The Makings of a Hero
by KillamriX88
Summary: A strange man finds a young Naruto and warns him of a great danger. He then tells him he must leave the village with him... now. NaruSaku
1. A Masked Man

**[Warning: BIG Manga spoilers!]**

**Well, I wrote this a while ago, but it was a little messed up. I edited it a little and changed a few things so it made a little more sense. Also I decided to remove Mitsuru's POV from this chapter. Why? I dunno, I just felt like it. Anyway...**

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**A Masked Man**

An eight year old Naruto ran, he ran for his life! Iruka could be damn scary when he was mad, and if he was late it would be his fourth time that week! Of course, Naruto was not yet sure what damn meant, but Iruka sometimes let the word slip when he was angry. However, Naruto would not make it to the academy that day.

"Uzumaki Naruto?" An older voice asked, causing Naruto to nearly trip in surprise.

"Umm, y-yeah?" He said and turned around. He saw a man in a jounin outfit with a black cloth mask covering his face. Normally the mask would let his eyes show, but he had black tinted goggles covering that portion of his face. In fact, not a centimeter of skin showed on the man's body.

"Come with me Naruto-kun, I have something _very _important to tell you," the man said and ushered Naruto into an alley way. Naruto was extremely nervous, he was used to being scorned by the villagers and once and a while it escalated to violence, though it didn't happen as often as it used to. Maybe it had something to do with being in the academy.

"Don't worry Naruto-kun, I'm not going to hurt you, I'm actually here to protect you," the jounin explained.

"Protect me?" Naruto was confused.

"You know of the Uchiha clan?"

"Yeah! Sasuke and Mia are Uchihas!" Sasuke was a fairly popular boy who did everything well, and Mia was a distant relative who was in a similar social position among the girls.

"Are they your friends?"

"No... I don't really have any friends, I mean I hang out with Chouji and Shika a bit but..." Naruto explained, shortening Shikamaru's name. A very sad tone entered his voice when he said this. They let him play with them once and a while, but to call them friends would be pushing it. When it was time to go home, Naruto was never invited to go with them.

"I see, well... there's no point in beating around the bush so I'll get to the point... you have to come with me and leave the village. Today," the man suddenly bluntly.

"Wh-what?"

"I can't go into detail here, but there are people who want to hurt you. I'm sure you've already had some bad experiences, but what I fear is coming is far worse. There are a lot of things I need to explain to you, but later. I need you to trust me. I know that's a lot to ask, but it's for your own good."

"Wh-what?" Naruto whimpered, was he really in that much danger?

"There are people who want to hurt you and attack Konoha in the process. That's all I can say," the man lowered his voice even more to say that. "Will you come with me?"

"I... uhhh... what about Sakura?"

"Who?"

"Sakura! She's pretty!" Naruto smiled despite what he had just been told. Sakura was a girl he'd seen from a distance. Her hair really stood out, being pink. She was different, he liked that.

"Umm... I see..." the man said.

"Is she gonna be OK?" Naruto asked, concerned for the pink haired girl. '

"Well, I dunno, maybe." The man shrugged.

"Maybe?"

"Well, to be honest no one will be safe when the attack happens."

"Can she come?" Naruto made puppy dog eyes earning a stressed groan from the man.

"Well, uh, I didn't plan on bringing anyone else." The man shifted his weight uncomfortably.

"I don't want Sakura to get hurt!" Naruto began to pout as well.

"You said you don't have any friends, why do you care about her so much?" The man gave an exasperated sigh.

"She's pretty," Naruto said stubbornly and crossed his arms. The man sighed again.

"That's it?"

"Well... uhh... no?" Naruto delved into his mind to find another reason but nothing specific came to him, he just wanted Sakura safe.

"So?"

"So what?"

"Dear Kami..." The man muttered, "OK look, we don't have much time, you really care about her that much?"

"Yeah!" Naruto was positive. Why? He had no idea, but if he had said otherwise this guy might not help Sakura stay safe too!

"Alright alright, I'll see what I can do, but no promises!"

**. . .**

"Naruto!" Iruka called out, "Uzumaki Naruto!" No response, _"Absent eh? I hope he's OK..." _He thought worriedly. It wasn't like him to completely miss class. He dreamed of being Hokage so he always tried his best, even if he did screw around allot. If he didn't show up he'd have to track him down later. "Alright, we'll start with reviewing the basics of henge!" Iruka announced to the class.

He heard a mutter of 'so troublesome' and saw Shikamaru put his head down on his desk and start to doze off.

"THAT INCLUDES YOU, NARA!" Iruka yelled making the boy and half the class to nearly jump out of their skin. A few minutes later a knock came from the classroom door and it slid open.

"Umino Iruka's class?" A man in a jounin vest with a mask and goggles hiding his face asked.

"Yes." Iruka replied sounding confused, then looked worried, "Is this about Uzumaki Naruto?"

"No," the men replied. "Is there a girl named Sakura in this class?" Immediately a girl with pink hair perk up and look at him.

"Uh, yes, what is this about?" Iruka gave the man a suspicious look.

"That's on a need to know basis and you don't need to know," the man stated. "I need to borrow Sakura, but trust me, she'll be perfectly safe."

"Who are you?" Iruka didn't like this.

"Again, you don't need to know. Sakura come with me." He shifted his attention away from the nervous Chuunin and instead looked at Sakura. The girl looked at Iruka nervously, not really wanting to go with the man.

"At least tell me your rank!" Iruka asked. The man sighed,

"Jounin, meaning I outrank you, _sensei_!" The man said the word sensei without a hint of respect. Iruka was started to get very irritated, but there was little he felt he could do.

"Iruka-sensei, do I go with him?" Sakura asked, looking a little scared.

"Yes, you do," the man answered for Iruka, who also nodded. Sakura, somewhat reluctantly, got up to follow to man.

"Don't worry Sakura, I'll kick his butt if I find out he hurt you!" a blonde girl said reassuringly.

"Th-thanks Ino..." Sakura mumbled and walked over to the man who led her away.

**. . .**

Naruto tapped his foot impatiently, what was taking him so long?

"Alright, I'm here!" A voice announced and Naruto looked over and grinned as he saw the man had brought Sakura.

"Hi Sakura!" he greeted cheerily.

"Naruto?" Sakura looked confused. "Wh-what's going on?"

"Looks like I have to explain again..." The man sighed, "Alright Sakura-chan, here's the deal, I am going to tell you something very important, if you tell anyone you're in big trouble, go it?" Sakura nodded nervously, "Good. There is a plot against Konoha, it's not safe in the village. I'm trying to keep Naruto safe." Sakura's eyes widened,

"B-but why am I here?"

"Naruto wouldn't let me leave without you..." Sakura looked confused and glanced at Naruto who gave her a big grin, "Apparently he was worried you'd get hurt."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he also thinks you're pretty by the way." Both young children blushed deeply, Naruto from embarrassment at having his secret spilled so casually, and Sakura from surprise. Nobody had _ever _called her pretty before. Well, her mom had once but that was her mom. "So, Naruto has agreed to go with me, how about you?"

"What about Ino?" Sakura asked. The man grumbled impatiently.

"No! No more! I'm not taking anyone else with me!"

"B-but... what if she gets hurt?" Sakura pouted cutely. "Please?" Sakura asked.

"No, if I went back and took _another _student they would get suspicious."

"Me and Ino are friends, it would make sense if you took both of us..." Sakura reasoned.

"I'm sorry but I can't risk it."

"Can I at least talk to her?" Sakura pouted more.

"Well I can't send you back to the class." His tone of voice suggested he was breaking.

"Then I'm not going!"

"I didn't want you to come anyways." The man shrugged.

"What? Hey!" Naruto protested. "Sakura you have to come!" he whined.

"Not unless I talk to Ino!" Sakura crossed her arms defiantly.

"Do you kids get like a lunch break or recess or something?" the man asked, his stance suggesting he was losing patience. At least he seemed to be giving in, if only to speed things along.

"Yeah." Sakura nodded.

"When?"

"Noon."

"Fine, we'll wait until then and then I will sneak you over to her so you can talk, OK?"

**. . .**

Lunch time came around and there was still no sign of Naruto, and the Jounin had still not returned Sakura, needless to say Iruka was worried. However, he was not the only one worried. One Yamanaka Ino was wondering where her pink haired friend had gone.

"What's wrong Ino?" Uchiha Mia asked. In the academy the two Uchiha children were the most popular kids because they had the highest grades in class and almost everyone admired them. At first Ino and Mia had clashed over who was more popular, but over time they had become friends. After all, Ino had taught Mia how to shut someone up with a flower to the mouth.

"I'm worried about Sakura," Ino replied.

"Yeah, that guy took and didn't bring her back." Mia looked a bit worried as well. She didn't really think of Sakura as her close friend, but she was Ino's friend and she was always around so they ended up spending a lot of time together.

"Hey Mia! I bet I'm faster than you now!" another girl named Chika called out.

"You're on!" Mia replied and chased after her. Ino sighed, of course Mia wasn't _that _worried about Sakura. Ino knew she was probably Sakura's only real friend.

"_Hmph, fine! Be that way Mia!" _Ino thought angrily. _"See if we're still friends after this!" _

"Psst, Ino!" She heard a whisper from behind her. Ino turned around and saw Sakura in a bush gesturing for her to be quiet. Ino quickly went over and got behind the bush with Sakura.

"Sakura! What are you doing?" Ino asked.

"Well... can I tell you a secret?" Sakura looked nervous.

"Of course!"

"But you can't tell _anyone!" _

"I'll be good I promise." Ino nodded reassuringly.

"OK... well... I still can't tell you everything... but..." Sakura hesitated slightly.

"But what?" Ino encouraged her friend to go on, starting get concerned... well, more concerned.

"I... I'm leaving Konoha!" Sakura blurted out before she could mentally talk herself out of it.

"Wh-what?" Ino looked shocked, "Why? No, never mind that! You can't leave!"

"I don't want to... but I think I have to..." Sakura muttered sadly.

"Why?" Ino frowned, "What did that guy tell you? It's because of that weird guy isn't it?"

"S-something bad's gonna happen..."

"What?"

"W-well..." Sakura wanted to tell her friend, but during the wait for lunch to come around the man, who hadn't revealed his name, had thoroughly explained that she couldn't tell _anyone_what was going to happen, "I can't tell you," she muttered timidly.

"Why not?" Ino almost yelled, and felt bad about speaking so harshly, but she was frustrated right now. Sakura shrank back.

"I-I'm sorry!" Sakura was on the verge of tears.

"No, I'm sorry," Ino said. "Can't you tell me anything else?"

"Well, I wanted to take you with us but he said no but I told him I wouldn't leave unless I could at least talk to you. I don't want you to get hurt when it happens." Sakura's bottom lip began to quiver slightly.

"Well even if he did say I could come I wouldn't, so don't worry about not be able to convince him, in fact I'm surprised you agreed, why did you?" Ino tried to be supportive instead of making the girl feel stupid, but she still wanted to know why.

"Well, umm, I don't think I can tell you." Sakura hung her head shamefully. Ino sighed,

"Alright, do you think you'll ever come back?" When Ino realized she might never see Sakura again she began to feel very sad, and more than a little nervous.

"I think so... and even if he doesn't want me to, I'll find a way to get back anyways!" Sakura said trying to sound determined.

"I'm holding you to it!" Ino said.

"Alright kids get back inside, breaks over!" Iruka shouted.

"Shoot!" Ino hissed. "Well, I gotta go," she added reluctantly.

"OK.," Sakura replied sadly, her voice breaking.

"Be safe Sakura," Ino said and suddenly hugged her friend. Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. Ino was nice to her, but a hug was new. It wasn't unwelcome though.

**. . .**

Sakura walked back to where she new Naruto and the man would be waiting, her eyes were a bit red from crying. After Ino had left she had waited until she was certain no one was around and then let herself cry. Upon reaching them Naruto waved to her.

"Hi Sakura!" He looked confused when she didn't respond and then worried once she was close enough for him to see her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing," Sakura choked out.

"But y-" Naruto is cut of when the man placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Leave her alone, besides, we have to get going now," he informed.

"B-but what about getting things from home?" Sakura asked.

"No time, besides, I assume you have parents yes?"

"Yeah."

"Would they be home at this time of day?" Sakura nodded,. "Then you can't go home if you are coming with us, we have to leave without anyone knowing until we are too far away for them to catch up to us."

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"What I am doing is technically illegal-"

"Illegal?" Naruto didn't recognize that word.

"Against the rules?"

"Oh..."

"Meaning if anyone found out I'd be in trouble, but trust me Naruto-kun, I'm doing it to help you."

"How can we trust you?" Sakura asked.

"You can't, all you can do is hope I am telling you the truth." Strangely, something about the way he said it comforted Sakura, only if just a little, "Look, don't worry, I'll take care of you, but we have to go now. If you're coming, follow me." The man then turned and began walking away.

They had left Konoha right through the front gates. The man had used a genjutsu to fool the gate guards. They had walked for about five minutes and when the walls of Konoha were no longer within sight Sakura stopped dead in her tracks.

"What's wrong?" The man asked turning to look at her.

"I'm not taking one more step until you tell me who you are!" the girl demanded. The man sighed.

"Well, no point in hiding anything from you two anymore," he said and then pulled the goggles off his face revealing strange milky blue eyes, as if his eyes were damaged. And what little skin was visible seemed rather pale. He removed the black mask next, showing that all of his skin was rather pale, and he had brown hair.

"My name is Mitsuru, and for the next few years, I am going to be your guide and protector."

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**Well, here it is, nice and shiny and revised. It might not be perfect, but it's better than it used to be. For nostalgias sake I leave the rest of this A/N as it used to be. I'll probably fix up CH2 soon as well.**

**(And as you may have noticed, the Uchiha clan is still in existence, because in this Itachi didn't kill everyone. Not to mention even if he still planned to, this is still a bit before he would have.)**


	2. Away From Home

**Chapter two!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11!1!!11one1! (sorry, just had to do that) Anyways, this is where things get explained a bit better.**

**And DAMN! I got allot of alerts, views, and reviews on this story, and after only one chapter! I feel so special! I'd hug you people but I'm not that kind of guy... not to mention you all live miles away from me.**

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**Away From Home - Chapter 2**

"Well boys and girls, this is our first stop. I call it 'The Amazing Dirt Pile of Wonderment!'" Mitsuru explained. Both eight year olds looked at him with funny looks on their faces.

"What?" Sakura was the first to speak up.

"It's a town whose name aint-"

"Isn't." Sakura corrected causing Mitsuru to sigh,

"Isn't worth mentioning, stick close or they might never find your body, OK?" He warned causing the two to gulp in fear,  
"Wh-what do you mean?" Naruto stuttered.

"This little piece of sunshine has one of the worst crime rates in Fire Country."  
"Sakura, what's a crime rate?" Naruto asked.

"Uhhhh, I think it has something to do with robbers," Sakura replied.

"Correct Sakura, to be more precise, a crime rate tells how many bad guys are breaking the rules in a certain town." Mitsuru explained.

"Ohhh, OK." Naruto nodded in understanding.

"_Sheesh, I forgot that I'd have to explain all these little things to them!" _Mitsure thought.

As the trio walked into the filthy little town, Sakura spoke up again,

"If this place is so bad why are we here?"  
"Because," Mitsuru began, "We need supplies, and I am gonna give you some lessons on how to keep yourself safe in a place like this." Sakura nodded in understanding. They first walked to a slightly dingy store that sold food and Mitsuru bought some dry foods that wouldn't spoil any time soon. Sakura also begged him to get her some candy and eventually he gave in. Next, with Sakura contently sucking on a lolly pop, they went to a store that sold basic survival supplies like bed rolls and rope. Mitsuru bought Naruto and Sakura small backpacks that could be adjusted so they would still fit them as they grew, though they would probably be mostly useless by the time they turned 12 or 13. There was a slight hold up while Mitsuru had to convince Nartuo to settle for a blue backpack since they didn't have any in orange. Sakura's was red

"Hmph, stupid peoples! Why don't they make 'em in orange!" Naruto whined as they walked through the little town.

"Orange is a really bright color, they usually don't make things completely orange." Mitsuru explained.

"So? Orange is cool..." Naruto pouted.  
"Pink is better." Sakura argued.

"No way! Pink is _girly!"_

"I'm a girl!"  
"Duh! Only girls would have pink hair like that!"  
"Yeah, well, only idiots dress in all orange!" Indeed, Naruto had on an orange t-shirt and orange pants. In fact, the only non orange color on his clothing was the hems of his shirt's sleeves, collar, and waist and his shoes, all of which were blue.  
"I'm not an idiot!"

"Enough arguing!" Mitsuru scolded them before one of them broke down crying from the others insults, _"Kids and their dumb arguments, jeez! If this is what being a parent is like, I'm never having kids!"_

After finishing the basic supply shopping with relative peace and quiet, it was time for some teaching,  
"Alright, I said I'd teach you how to keep safe in a place like this, so I will." He was met by the expectant gaze of two eight year olds, "First off, pay attention to your senses, especially hearing and touch." Sakura nodded, while Naruto looked confused, "Meaning listen closely, and if you feel something or someone touch you, always check to see what happened." Both of them seemed to understand this time, "If someone bumps you, always check your pockets, that's how pickpockets work, and they can be very good at takings things out of your pockets in a split second."  
"What's a pickpocket?" Naruto was imagining something thorny, confusing pick with prick, "Are they sharp?"  
"Errr, well, I don't know why you'd say sharp, but a pickpocket is a person who steals things from peoples pockets and even backpacks sometimes."  
"Even _I _knew that!" Sakura bragged.

"Good for you Sakura," Mitsuru said and then continued, "Next, you can almost always trust women with young children with them. Especially if the children look happy."  
"Why?" Naruto asked.  
"Because it means they are probably a mother or grandmother, and they are the least likely to hurt you."  
"Ohhh, OK!" Naruto smiled in understanding.  
"Next, if someone pulls a knife on you and wants your money, throw it on the ground and then run in the opposite direction. While they go after the money, you can escape."  
"Couldn't you just beat them up?" Naruto asked.  
"I could, but you two are too small and aren't strong enough."

"But I'm a ninja!"  
"In training, and only eight years old." Naruto pouted in defeat, "Don't worry, you'll grow." Mitsuru tried to lift his spirits a little.

"When?"  
"You're always growing, its slow, but even now you're growing."  
"Really?" Naruto looked excited, Sakura seemed to look excited as well, but then frowned,  
"Umm, if I'm always growing does that mean my forehead will get bigger?" Sakura looked a bit scared as she imagined her forehead being the size of a house...  
"Uhh, a little, why?"  
"It's already too big." She pouted.

"It is?" Mitsuru raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Yeah, I used to get teased about it all the time..."

"Well, I don't think it is, but on the off chance it is a little bigger than normal don't worry, the rest of you will grow and catch up to it and then everything should be perfect!" He smiled reassuringly.

"R-really?"  
"Yep, I promise!" Sakura seemed to believe him and smiled a little, "Anyways, the next lesson is how to pick a hotel based on your needs."  
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.  
"Well, if you are trying to hide you don't pick a popular hotel."  
"Are we hiding?"  
"Kinda, anyways come on, I'll show you how its all done." Mitsuru began leading them towards a hotel.

- - -

After teaching them a few tricks about picking a hotel, not that the town had that many hotels to pick from, he had then showed them how to ask for a room at a hotel. That part was pretty easy and both eight year olds were pretty sure they could have figured that part out on their own. They were now sitting on one of the two beds in the hotel room. Sakura had been afraid that she would have had to share a bed with someone, but Mitsuru had said that he could either use a chair or one of the bed rolls he had bought. Currently, Naruto and Sakura were the only ones there as Mitsuru had left to do something. Before leaving he had warned them not to open the door for _anyone _and that he had a key and could let himself in.

"Naruto, can I ask you something?" Sakura looked over at the blond boy next to her.

"What?" Naruto replied.

"Why did you want me to come?"

"Didn't Mitsuru-san already say that?" Naruto was pretty sure Mitsuru had told Sakura why he had wanted her to come.

"Well, yeah, but..."  
"But what?"  
"Why would you be worried about me?" Sakura asked. Naruto turned away from Sakura as looking at her was starting to make him feel funny,

"J-just because," he replied somewhat nervously, "I just didn't want you getting hurt!"  
"But _why?_" Sakura didn't understand the boys reasoning, "Why me, why not someone else, I hardly ever talked to you at the academy."  
"Well... I don't have anyone else..." This surprised Sakura, was he really that lonely? She still didn't understand why he cared about her, but it made a little more sense if he didn't have anyone. In fact she couldn't help but pity him,

"Can I ask something else?" There was one other thing she was curious about.  
"What?" Naruto looked back at Sakura.

"Why did you agree to go with him in the first place?" At this Naruto looked thoughtful for a few moments,  
"He said he'd protect me."  
"That's it?" Naruto nodded, "He could have lied."  
"I know... but it's the first time anyone ever said anything like that to me." When Naruto said this, Sakura felt a bit sad, Naruto was probably the loneliest person she knew. She had been picked on for her forehead, but then she had met Ino. Naruto had never found anyone.  
"What about you?" Naruto suddenly asked.

"Huh?"  
"Why'd you come?"

"I thought I had to..." Sakura answered.  
"Why?"  
"He said he had to keep you safe, but you said you didn't wanna go without me... I was afraid you'd stay and get hurt if I didn't go." Sakura explained her reasoning. She knew she would have felt really guilty if she had caused someone to get hurt. Naruto's eyes widened when he heard Sakura say that, she actually cared about him?

"R-really?" He questioned, and Sakura nodded. However, then Sakura realized something,

"Would you have gone even if I hadn't?" She asked.

"Well... probably..." Naruto replied.

"WHAT!? You mean I could have stayed home!?" Sakura practically shrieked.

"I-I'm sorry!" Nartuo quickly apologized. He looked depressed after that, and after a few moments Sakura felt a bit guilty for yelling, after all, he had only been trying to keep her safe,  
"Never mind, it's OK Naruto..." She amended.

There was then a knock on the door before their conversation could continue,

"It's me, I lost my key, let me in!" It sounded like Mitsuru.

"OK!" Naruto replied and got up, but Sakura stopped him by grabbing his arm,

"No! He said not to open the door!"  
"But he lost his key!" The door suddenly opened with a click,

"No I didn't," it was indeed Mitsuru, "That was a test, and you failed." Naruto hung his head in shame, "However, Sakura-chan kept you from completely screwing up. Teamwork can save you when you mess up, but at the same time you should always work as hard as you can so that you don't have to constantly rely on a teammate."

"Uhhh, OK..." Naruto took a few seconds to completely process the information.  
"For some people it can be difficult to grasp the concept of a team, some try and do everything themselves and refusing help until they get so messed up there is no way around it, and others expect their teammates to do everything for them. Hopefully neither of you have those problems," he continued. Once Sakura and Naruto thought about it for a few seconds they both nodded in understanding.

"Basically, the trick of teamwork is to use your individual skills to help the team, and... you know what, sit down, I might as well explain this in detail, it's important."

- - -

Almost an hour later Naruto and Sakura had been given a lengthy lesson in how teamwork is supposed to be. Naruto had glazed over half way through, while Sakura had absorbed everything like a sponge.

"Well, it's getting dark, why don't you two go to bed." Mitsuru said.

"OK." Sakura replied and walked over to her bed and crawled in, but didn't actually close her eyes yet, not that she could have fallen asleep,

"I don't wanna!" Naruto whined, "I'm not sleepy yet!"  
"Too bad!" Mitsuru scolded, but Nartuo sat down on the floor and crossed his arms,

"No!" At Naruto's continued refusal, Mitsuru got an intimidating look on his face,  
"Naruto, do you want to know what happens to little kids who don't do what I tell them to do?" He said in a dangerous tone.

"Umm, wh-what?" Naruto looked scared.

"I eat them and feed the leftovers to the dogs."  
"What dogs?" Naruto looked confused rather than scared. This caught Mitsuru off guard and he raised an eyebrow,  
"Uhhh, the ones that... umm..." _"Son of a bitch! This kids annoying!"_ He thought.

"You don't have any dogs do you?" Sakura asked.

"Whose side are you on!?" Mitsuru glared at Sakura, causing her to giggle mischievously. Mitsuru then had an idea,

"Naruto-kun, you do realize that if you get a good nights sleep you'll grow faster and become a better ninja, right?"  
"R-really?!" Naruto perked up.

"Yep!" Well, it wasn't a _total _lie, sleep _was _good for you.  
"COOL!" Naruto shouted and practically flew into his bed. Little did Mitsuru know that this tactic would come back to bite him, and soon.

- - -

"Naruto-kun." A voice spoke, "Naruto!" It came again, but louder, "WAKE UP YOU LAZY BUM!"  
"AAAH!" Naruto awoke with a shout of alarm.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Mitsuru asked the still sleepy would be ninja.  
"Uhhhh," Naruto blinked tiredly, not having any idea what the answer was.

"Ten o' clock."  
"R-really?" Naruto mumbled.  
"I woke you up an hour ago, and you said five more minutes... it's been _way _more than five minutes kid."

"Oops?" Naruto didn't remember that.  
"Oops indeed, now get out of bed!" Mitsuru ordered.

"I don't wanna!" Naruto argued and pulled the covers over his head.

"Fine, then me and Sakura will eat all the food." Mitsuru shrugged and turned to leave.

"F-food?" Naruto poked his head out of the covers.  
"Yes, ramen."  
"RAMEN!!!!" Naruto shouted and shot out of bed and pulled his shoes on, "I'm up!!"  
"I... see that..." Mitsuru looked rather surprised. Although, now he knew Naruto's weak spot, though it should have been obvious since the kid had tried to buy every cup of instant ramen in the town.

The little room they had bought didn't have a table big enough for all of them to use, and it didn't have anything they could use to heat up and of the food they bought, so Mitsuru brought them to a ramen stand. It wasn't much to look at, but they served food. The three sat in silence waiting for their food, not having much to talk about. Well, at least nothing they wanted to say in front of other people. When their food arrived, Naruto immediately started eating... and eating... and eating... and eating. Mitsuru and Sakura stared at him in shock as he was almost done his third extra-large bowl.

"Umm... Naruto... you're going to choke if you don't slow down..." Mitsuru eventually said.

- - -

"Ichirakus is better." Naruto said as they left the ramen stand. For a little guy, Naruto could eat a lot, he had eaten four bowls, three extra larges and a medium. Unfortunately for Mitsuru, his appetite would only grow

"Agreed." Mitsuru nodded, "but I suggest not saying that out loud or they might not feed you again." The thought of having ramen withheld from him made Naruto's eyes widen in fear. He made a mental note to _never _suggest that a ramen stand's ramen wasn't as good as it could be.

- - -

Mitsuru brought the two to a different town the next day. This town was bigger and much cleaner and more pleasant looking.

"Well kids, this place is Nitori town and while Ichirakus may have the best ramen, there is a place in this town that has the best dango. Not that I eat dango that much but I came with once with someone else who did." Mitsuru explained. At this Sakura looked a little excited,

"_Oi, girls and their sweets, I hope her appetite for dango doesn't match Naruto's appetite for ramen..." _Mitsuru prayed, thoughts of an empty wallet filling his mind.

- - -

In Konoha, there was a girl who was rather depressed. In fact there were two, but this one was far more worried than the other. The girls name was Ino. She could not get her mind off of what Sakura had told her, that something bad was going to happen. She had started training harder and paying more attention in class, much to Iruka's delight. In the five days since Sakura had left, her grades had been steadily increasing, she figured that soon her grades would resemble Sakura's. While Ino had been the leader of their little two girl group, Sakura had still had better grades. Ino had always been too busy being popular. She had also broken off her friendship with Mia, as the girl had inherited too much of the Uchiha pride and wasn't concerned enough about Sakura's disappearance for Ino's liking.

Ino had gone to Iruka and asked if there was anything he could teach her to make her a better ninja, but he had said that her improved performance in class was already doing that. She hadn't given up, and she had eventually gotten Iruka to give in a little. Iruka had said that if her grades kept improving he would teach her the bunshin jutsu ahead of schedule. However, Ino was still not satisfied. She had considered asking Mia to help her train, figuring that being an Uchiha would give her access to better training techniques, but she didn't fancy the idea of crawling back to the arrogant girl after breaking off their friendship. There was Sasuke, but that was almost as unappetizing an idea as Mia since the two were related.

It was recess and Ino was sitting in the swing she had seen Naruto sit in numerous times before, often with a depressed look on his face. Naruto had gone missing the same day as Sakura, and she had a feeling the two were connected. She never knew why the boy was so depressed, although she couldn't recall him having any friends. Regardless, it was her turn to mope in the swing.

"Uh, um, I-Ino-chan?" She heard a shy voice speak. It was Hinata, so lost in thought Ino hadn't noticed the girl walk over.

"What?" Ino asked.

"Y-you look sad..." Hinata said.

"So do you," Ino commented, and indeed Hinata was not as happy as she could have been,

"O-oh... well... umm," the other girl looked away in slight embarrassment, "Wh-what's wrong?" She tried to shift the focus of the conversation back to Ino.

"Sakura's gone." Ino replied.  
"A-and Naruto-kun." Hinata reminded.  
"It's that weird guy who came into the classroom that day, I know it!" Ino declared angrily, tightening her grip on the ropes securing the swing to the tree.

"D-do you think he wanted to hurt Sakura-chan?" Hinata asked.  
"I don't know!" Ino snapped, causing the other girl to flinch, but she was too angry and worried to notice, _"You better come back Sakura! You promised!" _Ino shouted in her head, _"You promised!" _She had always cared about Sakura, ever since the day she had given her the red ribbon to wear, but she had never realized just how much, not until she was gone. She wanted to cry, but it would be embarrassing in front of other people so she fought to keep her tears back.

"I-Iruka-sensei said that people were l-looking for them." Hinata mentioned in an attempt to lift Ino's spirits.

"Well they haven't found them!" Ino's voice broke a little.

"N-no..." Hinata hung her head sadly, she missed having Naruto in the class, his mood was almost always bright and his antics often cheered her up when she was sad. She was worried about Sakura as well.

Ino looked at the shy girl standing there, and was suddenly reminded a little of Sakura. She had first found the girl hugging her kneed and crying, and she had always been so shy. She hadn't been as shy as Hinata, but still. She knew Hinata didn't have many friends, and right now having someone else who was worried about their two missing classmates to talk to sounded good,

"Hinata... do you wanna be friends?" Ino suddenly asked.

"Wh-what?" Said girl looked surprised.

"No one else cares about Sakura or Naruto being gone, they're all stupid!" Ino ranted. She had never really cared about Naruto, but if he was missing he could be hurt, and she just knew his disappearance had something to do with Sakura, "So, friends?" Ino looked at Hinata expectantly. The Hyuuga girl didn't like being lonely, and with Naruto gone it would be nice to have someone to talk to,

"O-OK," she nodded.

- - -

"Otosan!" Ino shouted when she got home. She ran from room to room calling for her father until she found him,

"What is it Ino-chan? Why are you yelling?" He asked.

"Teach me stuff!" Ino ordered.

"What? You mean like ninja skills?" Inoichi raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah!" Ino nodded.

"You're too young, I am sure Iruka-san can teach you what you need to know for now."

"Too slow!" Ino pouted.

"Why do you suddenly want to learn so badly, I've noticed you're putting in extra effort at the academy as well, not that I'm complaining..."  
"I... I want to be able to protect people!" Ino's voice began to break slightly. Inoichi sighed as he realized what his daughters problem was,  
"Because of Sakura right?" Ino nodded,

"I miss her..." The girls lip began to quiver.

"Everything will be OK-"  
"How do you know!?" Ino tried to shout but instead her voice broke too much and it came out as a barely decipherable sob.

"Come here," her father said and pulled his little girl into a hug to try and calm her down, and earning a wet shirt for his trouble. When the girl finally stopped crying, he let go and looked her in the eyes,  
"Are you absolutely sure that is why you want to learn?" He asked, his tone becoming serious. Ino nodded,

"Y-yeah." Her voice was still unsteady from crying.

"Then every day when you get home from the academy, I will help you train a little, and I'll train you more and more as you get older, deal?" Ino felt herself smiling a little as something was finally going her way,

"Deal!"  
"OK, but not today, I need to help your okasan with the shop, and you should go rest." Her dad gave her a pat on the head.

"O-OK." Ino nodded and headed to her room, _"I'll get strong and keep the village safe for when you get back Sakura!" _She was determined, now all she needed was for Sakura to keep her promise.

- - -

They had been with Mitsuru for just over three months now, and Naruto was getting pissed off... not that he knew that phrase, but it was an accurate description of his current emotional state. Mitsuru wasn't teaching them enough! When was he gonna need to know how to tell which street vendors were most likely to have the best merchandise? He had also given them a long lesson on how to tell if a person was likely to be trustworthy or not. It seemed like it was worth paying attention to, but then it had been really confusing! He said never trust _anyone, _so why had he bothered describing the traits that trustworthy people often showed? It was all so annoying, he wanted to learn how to be a ninja already!

Sakura didn't mind as much, she figured if he was teaching them something then it must be important. In fact, Naruto's complaining was getting a bit annoying. She had taken to pinching him when he started to complain too much. Though it wasn't that effective as he still complained regularly.

"But that stuff is boring! I wanna be a nin- OW! Sakuraaaa!" Naruto whined and rubbed his arm after being pinched once again.

"OK as much as I appreciate you shutting him up, can you stop pinching him so much Sakura-chan?" Mitsuru said. The part about shutting him up caused Naruto to pout, "Calm down Naruto I didn't mean it like that." Mitsuru amended.  
"Ninja?" Naruto asked hopefully with puppy dog eyes.

"Not now." Mitsuru had learned to ignore 'the face.'  
"Whyyyyyyy?!" Naruto whined loudly.

"I'll train you when the time is right, now stop being so annoying!" Mitsuru finally snapped. He had tried being nice in his earlier turn downs, but now the complaints were getting tiresome.

"B-b-but-" Naruto whimpered.

"No buts!"  
"B-"  
"NO BUTS!" Mitsuru's shout made both Naruto and Sakura flinch. Naruto trembled slightly and tears began to slowly leak from his eyes, "Wait, no, don't cry-" Naruto began to cry freely,

"I wanna be a ninja!!!" He wailed, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"_Great, just great, I just _had _to be the nice guy and save the kids, I could have taken a week of vacation but nooo... I hate myself..." _Mitsuru grumbled slightly.

"You made Naruto cry you big meany!" Sakura glared at the man, also upset since she had also been scared by the sudden outburst.

"L-look Naruto, you will be a ninja, just be patient!" Mitsuru tried to console the boy.

"P-patient?" Naruto sniffled.

"Wait a little?"  
"I don't wanna!" Naruto shouted and put a massive pout on his face.

"Well, you already are a ninja if you think about it..." Mitsuru hoped that would calm the boy down.

"In training." Sakura corrected.

"_TRAITOR!" _Mitsuru had to keep himself from strangling the pink haired girl, "Well, a ninja in training is still a ninja."

"Really?" Naruto looked up at the man.

"Yes, since you're with me you don't need to go through the tests in Konoha to call yourself ninja, so I say that you can be a ninja now!" The man grinned hoping it would temporarily satisfy Naruto.

"So can I beat up robbers then?" Naruto asked suspiciously with an eyebrow raised.

"No."  
"NOT FAIR!" Naruto began whining again.  
_"Why me?" _Mitsuru looked up at the sky, hoping for some kind of answer. He did not receive one.

- - -

It had been almost two more months with the kids, and Mitsuru was getting quite fond of them, even if they had their annoying little personality quirks,

"Candy!" Sakura tugged on Mitsuru's pant leg.

"I already got you a lollipop today." He replied with a sigh.

"It's all gone..." Sakura pouted and stared sadly at her candy-less lollipop stick. She had gained the habit of dragging Mitsuru into candy shops daily to get lollipops. Her favorite was any kind that was red, whether it be cherry, strawberry, or some mixed flavor. Her sweet tooth was only growing as time went on; much to Mitsuru's distress. The girl was practically addicted to sweets.

"Can't you wait til' tomorrow, too much sugar will rot your teeth!"

"Liar! You said that before and I still have all my teeth, see!" Sakura showed Mitsuru her full moth of teeth.

"So far, you just haven't had enough sugar yet!" He explained exasperatedly. Dealing with these kids was getting harder and harder, he was starting to regret agreeing to take Sakura with them. At least then he'd only have to deal with Naruto. Speaking of Naruto, he had a surprise in store for the boy.

The two eight year olds followed Mitsuru, Sakura pouting since she wasn't getting any more candy, and ended up in a small clearing in the forest outside of the town they were in.

"Naruto." Mitsuru said, causing the boy to look at him expectantly, "What do you want most in the world right now?"

"To be Hokage!" Naruto shouted enthusiastically.  
"And what is a Hokage?"  
"Umm, a super ninja?!" Naruto asked.

"Well, close enough for now, so if you want to be a Hokage you have to be a ninja, right?" Mitsuru asked. Naruto nodded,

"Yeah!"  
"Well today your training under me begins!" Mitsuru announced with a grin, pointing at himself with his thumb. For a moment everything was silent as Nartuo stared at the man in front of him with wide eyes,

"R-really?" Naruto had to make sure his hearing wasn't playing tricks on him.

"Yup! You too by the way Sakura." Mitsuru nodded.

"YES! YAAAAY!" Naruto began running in circles around Mitsuru with excitement, repeatedly shouting 'YAY' at the top of his lungs, causing Sakura to giggle slightly. After a moment Mitsuru halted the boy by putting a hand on top of his head,

"Unless you keep doing that for a few hours, running in circles isn't gonna help you be a ninja," Mitsuru had to give a slight laugh at seeing the boy so excited.  
"OK! What do I learn first? A fireball jutsu? Something with dragons?" Naruto's eyes were practically shining with excitement, and it was almost painful for Mitsuru to have to crush the boys hopes,

"Slow down kid, I'm not teaching you stuff like that for a while." He explained.

"Awwwwwwwwwwww! Why not!?" Naruto whined loudly.

"Because we're too young." Sakura explained.

"_For once she's on _my _side of the argument!" _Mitsuru nodded in agreement with Sakura, "Exactly, but don't worry, we'll get to that kind of stuff eventually."  
"Sasuke could use a fireball jutsu..." Naruto pouted.

"And how old was he?" Mitsuru figured he must be some chuunin, though the name seemed vaguely familiar.

"Our age!" Naruto said.

"_Ah, he must mean Itachi's little brother, of course." _Mitsuru thought to himself, "Well, if you can prove to me that you can handle it Naruto, I might teach you something even better!" _Bribery, gets 'em every time..." _

"COOL!" Naruto bounced up and down in excitement.

From then until it grew dark, Mitsuru trained and tested the two young ninja wannabes. Naruto kept going long after Sakura collapsed from exhaustion, surprising Mitsuru with his inhuman stamina. However, even with the boys huge reserves of energy, he too grew tired and fell asleep where he collapsed... with a smile on his face.

* * *

**I hope you all enjoyed it. I tried to explain why Sakura, and Naruto, would leave Konoha like that. I hope I succeeded. And also, they are both young, so it is semi-easy for an adult to influence them. Not to mention both Naruto and Sakura have easily manipulable personalities at that time. Sakura is a shy, self conscious little girl who only gets any semblance of confidence when around Ino. And well, we all know, or at least I would hope you know, that Naruto had a damn sucky childhood.**

**And just in case you didn't notice, otosan means father. And okasan means mother.**

**The next chapter _should _be here before January ends. And since there is no way in hell (or anywhere else) I will get another chapter done in time... MERRY CHRISTMAS FELLOW FANFICTION WRITERS AND READERS!!!**


	3. Sad But Happy

**I feel famous! Only two, and now three, chapters and this already has more reviews, favorites, and alerts than my first story! And I haven't even been begging this time! Ahem, anyways, this chapter is... well, I don't know how to explain it, just read and enjoy! (Explaining takes the fun out of it anyways!)**

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* * *

  
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**Sad But Happy**

Naruto was amazing, and so was Sakura. Naruto had the stamina to train for hours, and Sakura was one of the smartest eight year olds he had ever seen. Mitsuru knew that with proper training the two could rival the legendary sannin. Sure that could be said about a lot of people, but Sakura had so much potential, and Naruto was... well... special.

"Come on Sakura! No way you can be tired yet!" Naruto was grinning enthusiastically at an exhausted and panting Sakura. They were currently camping out in a cave that they found in a small cliff out in the woods. The two young ninjas in training were running laps, using two large trees and a boulder as landmarks for their circuit. Sakura had managed seven laps, but now she felt ready to collapse. Naruto had already lapped her twice, as she had been gradually slowing down as she got more and more tired, and was on his ninth. Of course, Sakura could have kept going if it hadn't been for the fifty sit ups and push ups and the seventy jumping jacks that had come before the laps.

"Shut up!" Sakura glared at the blond.

"Hehe! See you at the rock!" Naruto said and ran off to finish the ninth lap and the start the tenth and last one. Mitsuru was making them do this every day, and it was getting harder. They used to only have to do half as many of each exercise when they first started. It was the laps that really killed her, and these woods were not a fun place for running. She had already tripped over two roots that day.

"Took you long enough..." Mitsuru muttered from atop the boulder when Sakura finally finished her final lap.

"Sh-shut... up..." Sakura panted.

"Is that any way to talk to your sensei?" Mitsuru raised an eyebrow but only received a glare from the pink haired girl. Suddenly, Sakura pouted,

"I can't do it! Naruto's way better than me!" She whined loudly and plopped down on her rear.

"What are you talking about? How can you say you can't do it when you just did?"

"But it's every day..." Sakura mumbled, "I'm tired!"  
"Hey sensei! I did an extra three laps!" Naruto ran over with his trademark goofy grin.

"Showoff!" Sakura shouted, getting up and smacking him over the head. Naruto shrank back with a confused look on his face,  
"B-but... I... s-sorry?" Naruto didn't understand why Sakura was suddenly so mad at him. She had always been a little short tempered, but never so mean. In fact she was usually even a little shy. Sakura stared at Naruto for a long second, and then quickly ran off with a newfound energy.

"Wh-why?" Naruto looked to Mitsuru for an answer.  
"Not completely sure Naruto." Mitsuru scratched the back of his head, _"Though something tells me this is indirectly my fault..."_ He sighed, "I'll go talk to her in a minute, you just take a break OK?" He said and ruffled the boys hair.

"O-OK..." Naruto nodded.

Sakura sat in the back of the cave, wishing she hadn't hit Naruto. She didn't know why, but she had just been so mad when he ran over like he had just won some wonderful prize. Why was everything so easy for him? She worked just as hard, why wasn't she able to keep up. Back in the academy Naruto had been the worst in their class, always goofing off like an idiot. She should be able to keep up with him easily.

"Hmph... stupid Naruto..." She mumbled to herself and pulled her knees to her chest.

"I suppose he _is _a little dense, but that doesn't explain why you hit him." She nearly jumped out of her skin when Mitsuru suddenly spoke up. She hadn't heard him coming at all.

"I-is Naruto mad at me?" Sakura asked quietly.

"No, he's just confused. Apologize to him and it will be like it never happened." Mitsuru shrugged.

"He's not going to just forget..." Sakura looked away.  
"Well, from what I've seen, he might not forget, but he won't hold it against you either." Sakura glanced back at him,  
"R-really?" She wasn't sure she believed him.

"Yeah, but I want to know why you hit him in the first place." Mitsuru crossed his arms and looked at the girl expectantly.

"I... uh... well... I was mad..." Sakura muttered guiltily.

"I figured that part out, why?"  
"B-because it's not fair! Naruto always does better than me but I work just as hard!" Sakura practically yelled out in her frustration.

"Not so, you understand most of my lessons better than he does." Mitsuru corrected.

"So? I don't care!" Sakura pouted, "He's still better than me!"  
"It's not your fault, Naruto has a freakish amount of stamina. If I wasn't an adult and a trained ninja, I wouldn't be able to keep up either!" Mitsuru smiled reassuringly, "Trust me, you have your own strengths that I am sure Naruto will be jealous of!"  
"If you say so...: Sakura muttered, not taking much comfort from the words.

"Anything else bothering you?" Mitsuru asks.

"Can't you take it a bit easier on us, I can barely handle the morning exercises and Naruto always passes out by the end of the day... last time he almost hit his head on a rock trying to get to bed..." Mitsuru twitched at hearing that, he wasn't being _that _hard on them was he? The exercises weren't any worse than what his sensei did to him,

"_When I was a 12 year old genin... dammit! I'm such an idiot! I guess I am overdoing it a bit. I always assumed because Naruto did so well in the morning exercises..." _Mitsuru sighed, "Yeah, I'll tone things down a bit OK Sakura?" Sakura nodded letting out a big sigh of relief,

"Arigato Mitsuru-sensei!" She smiled.

"That's one of the other reason you hit Naruto isn't it? Frustrated because I was working you so hard?" Mitsuru asked sounding guilty.

"Well... I guess..." Sakura's smile slipped off her face at being reminded of her outburst.

"Sorry Sakura," Mitsuru patted her on the head, "come on, Naruto's probably getting lonely."

"What if he doesn't want to see me?" Sakura asked, looking nervous.

"He will, trust me, he thinks you're pretty remember?" The pun caused Sakura to blush in embarrassment,

"N-not funny..." She pouted, but got up to follow Mitsuru to Naruto.

Naruto was still right where Mitsuru left him. His "break" from training was now becoming very boring.

"I'm booooooored!" He whined to no one but himself. Suddenly he felt a tickling sensation on his leg and looked down to see a caterpillar had crawled onto him, "a kitty!" He exclaimed and quickly grabbed the fuzzy creature. He held it up close to his face to get a better look at it, "you're fuzzy!" He grinned at the small thing. The caterpillar reared its head back as if getting a better view of the boys face. It leaned to the right slightly, and then to the left and then lowered itself back down and began to crawl towards his face.

"Ah, there is right where I left him!" Mitsuru said to Sakura.

"What's he doing?" Sakura could see Naruto giggling about something.

"Dunno, let's find out!" Mitsuru smiled and led Sakura over, "oi Naruto! What's so funny?"  
"I got a friend!" Naruto ran over and pointed to the caterpillar on his nose.

"EEK! WHAT IS THAT!?" Sakura shrieked and quickly hid behind Mitsuru. After a moment she poked her head back out, "it's gross get it off your face!"

"He's my Kitty!" Naruto crossed his arms defiantly.

"Kitty?" Mitsuru raised an eyebrow, _"Oh right, _cat_erpillar."_ Mitsuru sighed, the boy could be so dense!

"That's not a kitty you dummy!" Sakura argued from her safe spot behind Mitsuru... not that there was anything to hide from.  
"Hmph!" Naruto didn't want to hear it.

"Uhh, Sakura, didn't you have something to say to Naruto?" Mitsuru tried to change the subject.

"Not until he gets rid of _it_!" Sakura replied.  
"It's Kitty! Not _it_!" Argued the blond.

"_IT_!"

"KITTY!"

"_IT_!"

"GUYS! ENOUGH! It's just a caterpillar, jeez!" Mitsuru rubbed his temples in an attempt to stave off a quickly advancing headache.  
"You made Mitsuru-sensei angry!" Sakura accused Naruto.

"No! It was you!"

"_Kami... just kill me now, I beg of you..." _Mitsuru thought in exasperation.

A few minutes later Mitsutu finally ended the quarreling and had sent "Kitty" away to live in a nearby tree, something Naruto was definitely not happy about.

"_Now _will you tell Naruto?" Mitsuru asked Sakura. The rosette was silent for a bit, but eventually looked at Naruto who was eagerly awaiting whatever it was she had to say.  
"Naruto... I... I'm sorry." She said the final part of the sentence quickly and then looked away from Naruto. Said blond was silent for a moment, and thin grinned widely,

"It's OK Sakura! I forgive you!" The boy said happily. Sakura looked a bit surprised and returned her gaze to the boy,

"You do?"  
"Yup!" Naruto's smile was infectious and soon Sakura had a small though cute smile on her face.

"Alright boys and girls, time to get back to training!" The two eight year olds groaned at Mitsuru's announcement which had ruined the happy atmosphere. Sakura didn't want to train and Naruto had been admiring the girls smile. However, Naruto didn't stay unhappy for long, in the end he loved training, he knew each second of it brought him closer to becoming Hokage.

- - -

Naruto was grinning as he lay in a patch of grass. He was completely exhausted after a day of training, but he didn't care, life was good. He had everything he needed or wanted. Food, water, a friend, a sensei, and training to be a ninja so he could become Hokage.

"Naruto, get your grinning butt over here!" Mitsuru called with mock seriousness, "I have something to tell you." Naruto got up and ran over to Mitsuru. He saw that Sakura was there as well.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"Well Naruto, your progress in these past few weeks has impressed me, you too Sakura," Mitsuru nodded at the girl before continuing, "and today is a very special day."  
"It is?" Naruto looked confused, "why?"  
"You should already know! It has to do with you after all!" Mitsuru grinned.

"Me?" Naruto's confusion didn't go away. Mitsuru said nothing and simply stared at him with an expectant look on his face. After a full minute of silence Mitsuru sighed,

"Oh come on Naruto, surely you haven't forgotten your own birthday!"

"Birthday? Really!?" Sakura looked surprised.

"Oh, right." Naruto didn't seem excited at all.  
"Look more excited! I got you a present!" Mitsuru frowned at the boys unusual lack of enthusiasm.

"A present!" There it was, Naruto now had a big grin on his face, "but why?"  
"People get presents on birthdays! Everyone knows that!" Sakura explained, finding it hard to believe Naruto didn't know that.

"Oh," Naruto blinked a few times while he processed the information, "So what did I get!?" The excitement returned to his eyes.

"Not so fast kid, first we have a little celebration, _then_ you get the present!"

"Celebration?" Naruto was anxious to see what Mitsuru had planned.

"Yep, follow me kids!" Mitsuru said and turned to walk off.

Mitsuru led the two to a large tree stump the size of a dinner table that had a large piece of cloth draped over it. Naruto stared at it in anticipation, wondering what lay hidden beneath the cloth. Mitsuru walked over to it and the quickly whipped the cloth off revealing what lay beneath. Naruto's eyes widened,  
"CAKE!!!!" Mitsuru had to grab the boy by the collar of his shirt to restrain him,

"Calm down! You can't eat the whole thing yourself!" The man gave a amused laugh at the boy's excitement.

"Yeah! I want some too!" Sakura exclaimed. Mitsuru told the two to sit down around the stump and served them each a slice of the cake.

"YAY!" Naruto shouted before diving into his portion of the sugary goodness.

"Naruto!" Sakura scolded, slightly disturbed by his horrible lack of table manners.

"Leave him alone, it's his birthday!" Mitsuru chuckled, "besides, you should eat your slice before Naruto can steal it!" Sakura's eyes widened in fear at losing her cake and she quickly began eating it.

The cake was small, and Sakura was disappointed at not being able to get a second slice... as Naruto had eaten it all before she could. However, she decided not to hold it against him. Well, this time anyways.

"Present!" Naruto demanded now that his cake was gone.  
"Alright alright! Keep your shirt on!" Mitsuru said and pulled an object wrapped in colorful paper out of his backpack. The wrapping practically disintegrated the second it entered Naruto's grasp that was how fast the boy ripped it off. Naruto frowned,

"A... book?" Indeed, he now held medium sized, leather bound book in his hands.

"You can read can't you?" Mitsuru raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah... but..." Naruto had hoped for something more exciting.

"I think you'll like it more once you actually read it." Mitsuru had a sly smile on his face.

"Who wrote it?" Sakura asked.

"An... old friend of mine." Mitsuru said, his hinting at a painful memory, but then he forced his smile to come back, "just read it, trust me, it's worth it." Naruto nodded,  
"I will! And I'll keep it safe too!"

"I know." This time Mitsuru's smile was far more genuine, "and I'm sorry, I would have liked to give you a more exciting celebration."

"Nah! This is the best birthday party I've ever had!" Naruto had a huge grin on his face, "I got a present and Sakura is here!" Sakura felt herself blush,  
"B-because of me?" She asked looking surprised.

"Yeah!"

A while later, Mitsuru was lying on his back staring out at the star filled sky.

"_Damn those bastards in Konoha! Of course it was his best birthday party ever, it's probably the only fucking party he's ever been to!" _His hand dug into the ground, uprooting several strands of grass as he tried to control his anger, _"It's not his fault the Kyuubi was sealed into him! HE'S JUST A LITTLE BOY! HE DESERVES BETTER!" _That one sentence Naruto had spoken had revealed so much about his past. Mitsuru had known Naruto's history wasn't very pleasant, but now everything really hit home. To say the least, he was outraged. He felt a single tear roll down his cheek, Naruto was such a sweet kid, always happy and caring despite his past abuse. Even if he were to only base things on his first few days with the boy, he still couldn't believe anyone could hate him, _"I promise Naruto! I won't let anyone treat you badly ever again!"_ And something that truly bothered Mitsuru, is that he knew that Naruto's life now was probably better than his life in Konoha. They never stayed in any place very long, and this meant Naruto didn't really have a place to call home, _"And yet he's better off than he was in Konoha..."_

"Sensei, what are you doing?" Naruto asked as he walked over. Mitsuru had left after the party and it had been a few hours now.  
"Shouldn't you be in bed kid?" Mitsuru asked softly as he titled his head to look at the boy.

"You never came back..." Naruto explained.

"Come on, you don't have to worry about me, I'm the adult here!" Mitsuru smiled.  
"Sorry." Naruto looked at the ground. Mitsuru sat up and patted the ground next to him, asking Naruto to sit down. The boy walked over and did so.

"You said you wanted to be Hokage right?" Mitsuru looked at Naruto.

"Yeah!" Naruto grinned.

"Then I will do everything in power to help you achieve that dream," Mitsuru said with determination, though his voice was still soft as returning his gaze to the countless stars in the sky, "make me proud... Naruto." _"A dream to become the leader of a village that has hated him, it won't be easy, but I understand why. You'll do it Naruto, and you'll prove that they've all been wrong about you!"_  
Naruto stared at the man, not sure if he had hear right. What happened next caught Mitsuru off guard: Naruto hugged him and began crying. Mitsuru placed an arm around the crying child,

"It's alright Naruto, it's alright." He whispered compassionately. He had a pretty good idea of what was going on in the boy's mind at that moment. Naruto was likely both overjoyed at what he had just heard, and yet he was so unused to any form of affection that he was overwhelmed. But now he could let out all the pain that he had been forced to endure and keep bottled up inside.

Mitsuru stayed with Naruto for hours that night. Holding the boy as they both stared out at the stars. In the end, it was the happiest day of Naruto's life. He finally knew something for certain. He was not alone anymore.

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**I got it done by Christmas after all! HAHA!**

**I hope that was a good chapter. To be honest, I almost cried when I wrote the part where Mitsuru was thinking after party. So emotional... *sniffle*. Maybe it's because I was tired since I was writing that part at 1 in the morning, or maybe it really was an emotional part. Who knows.**

**Peace out and Merry Christmas! **


	4. Awakening The Beast

**Thanks for all the positive feedback. I should probably be editing chapter 5 of Secrets and Desires so I can publish it, but this story is going so well I can't help but focus all my attention on it. OK so I have been paying more attention to the video games I got for Christmas than this but whatever. Anywayz, thanks again for the reviews, I'm not gonna beg for them, but every, positive, review gives me that much more motivation to write a good chapter.**

**Enjoy.**

**And since every other damn story I read does this, Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Now you can't sue me, BITCHES, HAHAHAHAHAHA! . . . ahem, anyway, now to the actual story! (sorry if I offended anyone with that, I did not intend to.)**

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**Awakening the Beast**

Two years. Two long years. Naruto had trouble thinking of a single day during those years that he hadn't enjoyed. However, now things were getting frustrating. He had been taught the bunshin jutsu nearly a year ago, and he still couldn't quite get it right. He had had trouble with the henge jutsu too, but after a week straight of focusing almost entirely on that one jutsu and he had pulled it off. Though, that was about a year after he had learned it at the academy...

Sakura had all three of the basic academy jutsus mastered and Mitsuru was now teaching her basic genjutsu. Naruto had tried to use a genjutsu once, he had also vowed to _never _use a one again. Not after the one he tried to use had gone horribly wrong and he had somehow managed to use it on _himself. _Just the memory of it made him shudder. Mitsuru had tried to make him feel better by telling him that he _had _been able to use it. Naruto took little comfort from that.

"Bunshin no Jutsu!" Next to Naruto two replicas of himself appeared. One was discolored and had only one eye, and the other looked fine... except for the lack of a mouth, "Grrr! SENSEI!!!"

"You don't have to yell Naruto." Mitsuru said from behind Naruto causing the boy to nearly jump out of his shirt.

"D-don't do that!" The ten year old would-be ninja shouted.

"Sorry, habit, now what's up kid?" Mitsuru crossed his arms and waited for the reply. Instead of words, Naruto pointed to the discolored clone, "Yup, it's ugly, what about it?" The answer made Naruto scowl,

"Why can't I get it right?" The boy asked, his voice laced with frustration and annoyance.

"I'm not entirely sure to be honest." Mitsuru rubbed his chin with a ponderous look on his face, _"Could it be? Hmm, let's find out." _"Alright kid, I'm gonna teach you a new jutsu as an experiment to see what's wrong with you."  
"TH-there's something wrong with me?" Naruto looked a bit nervous.

"That's not what I meant, I mean I'm gonna see if this will tell us why you keep screwing your clones up."

"Oh." Naruto gave a relieved smile.

Four hours later, Naruto was once again struggling, but with a different jutsu.

"Tsuchi Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto shouted, and a lump of earth rose up... and stayed a lump instead of turning into a clone like it should have. Well, it _did _have arm shaped lumps protruding from it this time. He had managed to make a leg shaped lump appear once, except it had been protruding from where the face was supposed to be, "This jutsu is hard too!" Naruto frowned and sat down with his arms crossed.

"Oh stop pouting and try again!" Mitsuru scolded. Naruto looked at him, frustration clear on his face, but the boy finally sighed after a few moments and stood up to try again.

"Tsuchi Bunshin no Jutsu!" This time the lump was human shaped, and even had some facial features. However it still looked like dirt so it wouldn't be fooling anybody. That and it didn't seem like it was gonna be moving any time soon. Mitsuru sighed,  
"Try again Naruto."

"I still can't do it!" Naruto shouted in frustration.

"It's only been a day with a more advanced jutsu, don't give up yet!" Mitsuru scolded, "I thought you were more stubborn than this!"

"Yeah, well, it's hard, and it just plain feels weird each time I try to use it!" Naruto argued.

"Weird you say?" Mitsuru frowned in thought, "Well then, time for another new jutsu!"  
"Is this one gonna be hard too?" Naruto almost groaned. Normally he would be excited, but so far Mitsuru's experiment had been a frustrating waste of time.

"It shouldn't be. This one is Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu." Mitsuru explained and showed Naruto the correct hand seals.

"I DID IT!" It had taken him nearly four hours, but he had two perfect water clones standing next to him.  
"I see that, good work kid!" Mitsuru grinned along with the boy.

"It was easy this time!" Naruto said, but then suddenly looked confused, "why?"  
"I have an idea," Mitsuru pulled a paper square out of his pocket, "I thought this might come in handy."

"What is it?"  
"You'll see," Mitsuru handed the paper to the Naruto who took it somewhat hesitantly, "don't worry, it won't bite, last time I checked paper didn't have teeth."  
"Not funny." Naruto scowled.

"Right, anyway, flow your chakra into it, I think you'll find the result interesting." Mitsuru explained.

"Umm, OK." Naruto focused on the paper, and a moment later is suddenly split in half, "COOL!" The boy shouted, "Errr... how'd I do that?" His expression returned to one of confusion.

"Simple, you're a wind type when it comes to chakra," the older man said, "the paper is from special chakra fed trees, so it reacts when chakra flows into it. For instance if I did it, it would turn to dust since I'm an earth type."  
"Oh... so wait, if I'm a wind type why was a water jutsu easy?" There was still that one thing puzzling him.  
"Well, water and wind don't clash, but wind and earth do, which is why the Tsuchi Bunshin is so difficult for you."

"Ohhh, I get it now!" Naruto grinned as the last threads of confusion broke away.

"NARUTOOOOOOO!" Suddenly Sakura's angry scream echoed through the area.

"What the? Sakura!?" A very concerned Mitsuru stood straight up and began to run to where Sakura should be.

"Don't worry, she's fine!" Naruto had a sly, almost fox like, grin on his face.  
"What do you mean? Hey wait, where'd the clones... go... oh you didn't..." Mitsuru sighed and put a hand over his face.

"Well..." Naruto gave a nervous laugh.

"You realize you're dead once she gets here right?" Judging from that yell, Sakura would be out for blood. Naruto froze and suddenly looked a bit frightened,

"Uhh, well... uh-oh."

"Uh-oh indeed." It was at that moment a drenched and very angry Sakura arrived,

"THIS IS A NEW DRESS YOU BAKA!!!" She shouted furiously at Naruto.

"Well, it was certainly an innovative use for the water clones." Mitsuru muttered to himself while he watched Naruto run for his life. Sadly for sad boy, he wasn't fast enough to escape the rock that collided with his skull moments later. Mitsuru winced in sympathy.

That was the first day that Sakura showed her mean side, and it wasn't a pretty sight. Naruto had had to take the day off from training, though mostly due to mental trauma at being knocked down, tied up, and hung upside down from a tree. Well, Mitsuru had helped with the last part saying he thought Naruto deserved it and it would be a good way for the boy to practice the escape jutsu. Naruto had just ended up wriggling until the branch he was tied to broke, which was a rather painful way down, and he was still tied up at that point. Eventually Mitsuru untied him and warned him that girls in general were very scary when angered and that he should be more careful in the future.

"Just be glad it wasn't Anko, you'll meet her someday, and I advise you to stay on her good side." Mitsuru had said. Naruto decided to take that advice, Sakura was bad enough as it was.

Currently the boy was reading the book he had gotten for his birthday two years ago. He had actually only started reading it that day. He had been so busy he had never actually gotten to it before. He figured resting after being tortured by Sakura was a good enough time to start as any. Of course, he wasn't the best reader, but he had learned how so he would be able to read technique scrolls should he ever get his hands on one. So far the book was... demoralizing.

_Page 1:_

_Life as a shinobi is not as glorious as some may think. The exciting adventures and missions are not fun, they are painful and there is the risk of losing the one you have come to think of as a brother or sister... or perhaps more. If you are lucky, everyone will go home in the end, but if you are not you may receive a wound to the heart that never heals. I have many such wounds, and each one has a name attached to it. One day, I may have my name attached to such a wound, but for now I write this book so those who come after me can learn from my mistakes. If you knew me and are reading this after I have gone, forgive me if I was the source of a wound to your heart. No matter who you are, I hope you learn from what you will read in this collection of my experiences. But I pray that you use this knowledge to protect, not harm. _

_Page 2:_

_Me, Jun, Akio, and Yuki were assigned to gather some intel on a group on missing-nin, they hadn't been causing too much trouble, but they were all B class or higher, and there were at least 11 of them, so if they wanted to cause some pain, they certainly could. We were to watch them from he shadows, and with Yuki with us, I thought everything would go just fine. After all, this kind of mission was her specialty. _

On that page, numerous words had been scribbled out, and it looked as if the writer had dug their pen into the page for some reason. Naruto had no idea why, but he continued reading,

_Page 2 continued:_

_We eventually tracked the bastards _(Naruto made a mental note to find out what that word meant) _and found out that had been causing a lot more trouble than we thought. They were torturing people for fun. Jun nearly lost it at the sight, and I had to restrain him before he revealed our position. The guy was way too soft, but in a way I respected that. He was one of the few people I knew who still had a strong grip on their humanity. After watching the unforgivable acts committed there, we decided we couldn't let them live. They had to be stopped now. Akio tried to talk us out of it, but Jun gave him a black eye for his trouble. We planned to attack just after dusk, while at least some of them would be sleeping. I knew it was a bad idea. We were outnumbered, and Yuki wasn't the best when it came to all out combat. And these would be less than ideal conditions against well trained enemies. However, she refused to back out. _

_Page 3:  
We did it by the book, slowly and quietly closed in. But Jun ruined it. He saw this crying woman being dragged off by some guy, probably to be raped. He threw a kunai that hit the guy in the eye, an instant kill, would have been quiet too except the woman freaked and started screaming. And in view of some of the others, they knew what was going on within seconds. The only reason I'm still alive to write about this is thanks to Akio. He worked fast and took two of them out before they knew exactly where we were and how many of us there were. I fought with Yuki since she needed the most help, while Jun and Akio fought their own battles. I can't bring myself to go into more details. The fighting was messy, and although the memories are already flooding back, writing exactly what happened would make it feel too real. And I already went through it once. Jun died first._

Naruto had to stop reading. He didn't expect to read about people fighting and dying. And especially right at the beginning. However, curiosity got the better of him and he started to read again, only to be interrupted by Mitsuru.

"Enjoying it?" He asked.

"I don't know, its... sad." Naruto answered quietly.

"Yeah, but its worth it in the end." Mitsuru replied just as quietly.  
"Who wrote it, you said an old friend, but..." Naruto looked up at Mitsuru.

"He... he was... my sensei." Mitsuru had to force the words out. For some reason, he didn't feel worthy of even mentioning the man.

"Oh..." Naruto looked back down at the book for a second, "umm, by the way, what's bastard mean?" Naruto asked innocently and Mitsuru nearly choked in surprise,

_"Shit, I forgot there were swears in that book!" _He thought, mentally kicking himself, "Well, umm, it's a bad word... so, maybe you should just forget about it!" Mitsuru's weak tactic failed miserably,

"But I wanna know!" Naruto argued. Mitsuru sighed,  
"The literal meaning is a person whose mother and father weren't married, but most people just use it as an insult against anyone they don't like or are angry with, OK? Now don't go repeating it!"

"Umm, OK." Naruto didn't see what was so bad about it, but he didn't argue.

"I'm gonna go check on Sakura," Mitsuru walked out of their latest cave home... and was suddenly drenched with water, "NARUTO!"  
"GOTCHA! That's for tying me up in that tree!" Naruto laughed victoriously. He had left a water clone near the cave entrance as a trap for his sensei.

_"Little bastard..." _Mitsuru thought as he walked off, _"I'll use logic to make him feel guilty later..."_

A few days later, and three attempts on Naruto's life by Sakura (the water clone prank was starting to get _really _annoying), Mitsuru brought Naruto to a clearing that was about 10 minutes from their camp without Sakura.

"Alright Naruto, pay attention, this is very very important, understand?" Mitsuru said in a serious but kind tone. Naruto nodded,

"Uh huh!"

"Do you remember why I took you with me two years ago?" Mitsuru asked.

"The Uchihas?"  
"Right, but I never told you _why _they wanted to hurt you." Naruto looked thoughtful for a bit,

"You didn't."  
"Well now I am going to tell you why." At this Naruto stared expectantly at Mitsuru, not intending to let a single word slip by him. He had never put much thought into the whole thing, he had just been enjoying the freedom of being away form a village that seemed to hate him. But now he wanted to know, could this have something to do with why the rest of the village hated him as well? Mitsuru continued, "I assume you've noticed that seal on your stomach by now?"  
"Y-yeah, what is it?" Naruto had always wondered why he had a seal on his stomach, but he had never known who to ask, or what they would say if he did.

"On the day you were born, there was something sealed into you, and that seal is what holds it in." Mitsuru began.

"Wh-what!?" Naruto's eyes widened and he looked scared. Mitsuru wished he didn't have to do this, but he felt Naruto deserved to know. He also knew that he was breaking a law punishable by death in Konoha, that or most if not all of your life in prison. Neither were favorable outcomes.

"They sealed the Kyuubi no Kitsune into you, the demon that attacked and nearly destroyed Konoha ten years ago, that's why the villagers were so horrible to you, and it's also why the Uchiha want you. They want the demons power for their own." Naruto started to slowly back away, not wanting to believe what he was hearing. There was a demon inside of him!? Could it get out? Could it control him? What would happen if Sakura found out? And why him in the first place? He wanted to think it was all a mean joke to get back at him for his pranks with the water clones, but he didn't think Mitsuru was that mean.

"Y-you're not lying... are you?" Mitsuru shook his head slowly,

"No I'm not Naruto, but don't worry, I've known all along and I've been nice to you right?" He tried to reassure the boy with a smile.

"I guess... b-but don't tell Sakura! I don't want her to be scared of me. Please?" Naruto looked at the man with scared, pleading eyes that nearly broke Mitsuru's heart. It bothered him that the normally cheery Naruto could have his spirits sink so low, and that he could be so scared of something. Something that wasn't his fault,

"I won't, but you have to tell her eventually." Mitsuru replied. Naruto nodded slightly,

"R-right..."

"Well, now that you know, there is one other thing I want to do if you're OK with it." Mitsuru didn't want to do this with Naruto so upset, but now was a good a time as any/

"Wh-what?" Naruto asked.

"I want to teach you to use the Kyuubi's chakra, I'm not sure how it works myself, but that seal should keep anything bad from happening."  
"Should?"  
"I'm not an expert on seals, but that one is pretty advanced, and it is designed to keep the Kyuubi locked up, but I am also pretty certain that it will allow you access to the demon's chakra, you up for it?" Surprisingly, Naruto put on a tough face and nodded,

"Yeah!" Mitsuru smiled, there was the Naruto he knew!

"OK! First, just focus on your chakra, see if you sense anything out of the ordinary."

Naruto drew upon his chakra, but he felt nothing out of the ordinary. If there was anything abnormal, he had grown accustomed to it a long time ago and could no longer sense it.

"Nothing..." He hung his head in defeat.

"Alright, time for plan two then. I'm gonna teach you a technique that is pretty much useless, but perfect for this situation. It will basically drain away all of your chakra." Mitsuru explained.

"Why?" Naruto didn't get it.

"I figure if we do that, the demon chakra will be easier to access."  
"Oh..." Mitsuru quickly explained the technique to Naruto,

"OK, got it?" Naruto nodded, "then begin! And remember to keep trying to draw on your chakra even once you feel empty." _This will either work, or make him pass out. But only one way to know for sure..." _Mitsuru thought.  
"Right!" Naruto nodded once more and made a hand seal, "Chakra Kai!" Naruto felt his chakra exiting his body immediately. Mitsuru was surprised at the amount of chakra Naruto had, he had never seen it flow out of him in such copious amounts before. It was likely the effect of having a demon in him.

Naruto kept going for a whole minute before he started to run low. He began to feel a bit lightheaded, but didn't give up. A few moments later, Mitsuru thought he saw a red wisp swirl around Naruto, but it was gone quickly. When he saw another one, he was certain it had happened.

"Naruto?" He asked, and as if on cue, a burst of red chakra followed by a shock wave emanated form the boy. Mitsuru had to put his hand in front of his face to keep debris from going into his eyes. When the gust of wind kicked up from the burst ended, he lowered his hand to see Naruto with a red, foul sensing aura around him. However, what truly shocked him were the boy's eyes. They were red, silted, and completely demonic. The beast was awake.

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**Sorry if anybody is upset about Sakura's limited role in this chapter, but this one was focused mostly on Naruto. She, and Ino, will be back in the next chapter though! And since I pretty much finished this on New Years day, Happy New Year!**


	5. Heritage

**Over 1000 hits now! Not bad not bad. BUT I WANT 2000!!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHA! And how the hell do some stories get like, 300 comments? This one has... 10. Then again, some of those stories have been around for like a year and a half. Looks like I have some catching up to do... (Insert insane pointless rant that would likely offend people here. Why? Just because.)**

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**Heritage**

Naruto had been engulfed in what must have been the Kyuubi's demonic chakra. Mitsuru hadn't been sure what to do. However, he had ended up without many choices when Naruto had suddenly lunged at him. He had been much faster and stronger than normal. In the end, Mitsuru had been forced to send a powerful burst of chakra into the boy to knock him out and force the demon chakra back. Naruto had been unable to remember what happened, and Mitsuru hadn't had the heart to tell him he had lost control. So he had lied and said that the chakra drain technique had caused him to pass out. Naruto was obviously not ready to use the demon chakra yet. Even sealed away, the Kyuubi's effect on Naruto was unpredictable. Perhaps Naruto would be able to control it next time now that he had experienced it. Or maybe not. Mitsuru was in no hurry to find out.

"Naruto, Sakura, front and center!" Mitsuru called out. The two quickly ran out of the cave and stood before him. It was still early in the morning, and they had just been finishing up breakfast.

"Umm, we weren't done eating..." Sakura pointed out somewhat timidly.

"Oh, well, how close were you?" Mitsuru replied.

"Well, we were almost done but-"  
"Good enough," Mitsuru dismissed the topic, "I want you two to get to work on something, and it might take you all day."

"What is it?" Asked the ever curious Naruto.

"Tree climbing!" Mitsuru announced, expecting them to not get it, and grinned in anticipation of their reactions.

"How is that gonna take us all day? I can climb trees easy!" Naruto frowned.

"Without your hands." Mitsuru clarified slyly.

"That's impossible!" Sakura argued.

"Is it?" Mitsuru raised and eyebrow, "well let's see." He casually walked over to a tree, made a hand seal to gather some chakra... and then walked up the side of the tree with his arms folded across his chest. Upon reaching a branch he looked down at the two stupefied 10 year olds.

"COOL! TEACH ME TEACH ME!" Naruto shouted in excitement.

"W-wow..." Sakura was still in shock.

"Amazing right?" Mitsuru jumped down in front of the two, "and also surprisingly easy once you get used to it." He then began to explain the technique.

"And lastly, remember that you're not gonna get it right the first time, so be prepared to catch yourself so you don't break your neck if you fall. I'll try to save you if things look bad, but in the worst case scenario..." Mitsuru let the sentence trail off since he was pretty sure they got it.

"W-what if we both fall at the same time and neither of us can catch ourselves." Sakura asked timidly.

"You go splat?" Sakura paled at Mitsuru's answer, "I'm just kidding, I can catch you both... I think."  
"Don't worry Sakura, I'll catch you if he can't!" Naruto grinned at her, and surprisingly she felt a little better.

"Th-thanks Naruto..."  
"Alright boys and girls, get to your trees and start climbing, and if I even _think _you're using your hands to cheat, I'll... why I'll... **CUT THEM OFF**!" Mitsuru laughed evilly when the two children's eyes widened in terror, "Just kidding!" He smiled.

"Meany!" Sakura shouted, her face red in a mixture of embarrassment and anger.

"I knew you were kidding the whole time." Naruto tried to play it cool.

"Then why did you look so scared?" Mitsuru asked slyly.  
"Uhh, well..."  
"Because you were of course, now seriously, get climbing." Mitsuru ordered, "oh, and one last thing, use these kunai to mark how far up the tree you get."

"AAAAAAAAH!" Naruto shouted in alarm when his feet suddenly lost their connection to the tree he was attempting to climb. He landed hard on his back at the base oft the tree and lay there coughing as he tried to catch his breath.

"You OK?" Mitsuru asked as he walked over.

"Wh-why didn't you... catch me?" Naruto asked between swallows of air.

"You weren't high enough to be in danger." Mitsuru answered simply, Naruto's most recent mark was an amazing... six feet out of 87.

"It still hurt..." The blond pouted.

"Then you better avoid falling again." Mitsuru shrugged.  
"You're mean." Naruto scowled and turned his head away.

"Oh stop pouting and climb the damn tree!" Naruto growled in response but got to his feet and got ready for another attempt.

"Sensei, sensei look!" Sakura called.

"Look at what, I can't see you!" Mitsuru chuckled, "you're pretty high up Sakura!" Indeed, Sakura was high up in the tree. She wasn't really too far away to see, but there were a few branches obscuring his view of her.

"Well Naruto, Sakura's beating you, watcha gonna do about it?" Mitsuru turned his attention to the now rather bruised boy. He was terrible at recovering from a fall.  
"I'm going all the way this time!" Naruto snapped back. He gathered his chakra, glared at the tree, charged, tripped on a root, and got a face full of bark.  
"Maybe you should take a break, that was pretty pathetic kid..." Mitsuru said, feeling sympathy for the boy.

"Never! I'm getting to the top today if it's the last thing I do!" The boy argued stubbornly.

_"At this rate, it _will _be the last thing he does..." _Mitsuru thought with a sigh.

Naruto stared at his opponent of wood and leaves, "Tree, my name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I will defeat you now!" The tree did not answer. It merely stood there, just as it had for all of its fifty plus years of life. It was a difficult opponent, it could not feel anger or any other emotions, so it could not make mistakes. And it was big, very big, its bark was rough and its roots ran deep. Naruto didn't stand a chance, not with his poor chakra control. Once again he charged, and once again he fell. If he wanted victory, it looked he was going to need some help. And with the sky turning orange with the setting of the sun, he didn't have much time.

"Umm, Sakura?" Naruto asked.

"Wh- EEK! Naruto!? What happened to your face!?" Sakura's eyes widened as she faced Naruto. She had made it far enough up her tree to call it quits for the day. And thus hadn't been around to see Naruto get beaten up by his own tree. The bark cut and the ground was hard, while Naruto's face was soft, not a good combination when the two collide. The boy had numerous scrapes and bruises, and not just on his face.

"D-don't worry, I'll be fine, I've had worse." Sadly, that was true. Drunken villagers could be pretty nasty when they wanted to, and they usually did. That was one thing Naruto certainly didn't miss about Konoha, "I was wondering if you could give me some help."  
"I guess, but are you sure you're OK?" Sakura made a mental note to yell at Mitsuru for not taking better care of Naruto.

"Heh, it makes allot more sense when you explain it Sakura!" Naruto grinned, he would definitely make it to the top of the tree this time!  
"Really?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah! You're a way better teacher than Mitsuru... he fell asleep over there a while ago..." Naruto ended his sentence in a grumble and pointed to where Mitsuru was sleeping at the base of a tree.

"I heard that." Mitsuru muttered sleepily, "it's not my fault you ended up taking so long... I got bored, jeez, so critical of people..." The two children ignored the man's rant and returned their attention to tree climbing.

"No!" Naruto stabbed his kunai deep into the wood of the tree, he would not fall this time. He had made it a fair distance up, but he had made a mistake and started to fall, but this time would be different. The kunai slowed his fall just enough for him to get his feet back onto the tree. He had it this time, he could feel it. It was perfect, it was firm. He had mastered it. He pushed off once more and ran. It was exhilarating, the pull of gravity as he ran straight up. Adrenaline coursed through his body, sensing that something was wrong, it wasn't natural to be in this position, he should be falling, but that just made it more fun, it added to the excitement.

"WOOOOO! I MADE IT! SAKURA, SENSEI, LOOK!" Naruto cheered from a branch near the top of the tree.

"Good job kid! I taught you well!" Mitsuru grinned.  
"It was my advice that helped him..." Sakura grumbled.

"And who was it that taught _you_? It was my teaching that started it."  
"You're taking credit for Naruto, I'm the one who gave him the advice that got him to the top!"  
Naruto sighed, they had completely forgotten about him...

_Page 3 Continued:_

_Jun died first. He had tried to rescue some of the prisoners so they didn't get killed in the crossfire. He ended up taking three kunai to the chest for one prisoner. That didn't stop him though, at least not right away. He jumped at the one who had thrown them, ripping one of the kunai out of his chest and stabbed the guy in the shoulder. unfortunately that didn't kill him. He ended up killing Jun before Jun could kill him. Great, I just said I didn't want to go into detail, and here I go doing just that. Well, too late now I guess, but I suppose they deserve to have their story known. A mission report and some death certificates just don't do them justice. It was then that Akio noticed what was happening to him. He was upon the guy in seconds and almost literally tore him apart. The odds had been evened up a bit at this point, but Jun's death was pretty demoralizing. It also made us all pretty pissed off. Akio was going at it with this kunoichi. It looked like he had her when she stabbed him in the stomach with a kunai that had an exploding note attached to it. It must have hurt pretty badly because he froze up for a second. The bitch tried to escape, but then he grabbed her. It was fitting for him really, he had a short temper, so going out with a bang and taking his killer with him was a good a way for him to go as any. Though I would have preferred he hadn't had to go at all._

_Page 4:  
It was down to me and Yuki against the three remaining missing-nin. Yuki was bleeding pretty badly, but she wasn't dying yet. I was in slightly better shape, but I hadn't gotten through the battle unscathed. I knew this wouldn't go well. Yuki would have to take one of them on all alone while I focused on the other two. I was afraid she would die before I could finish the other two off. She must have known what I was thinking, because she took a second to chew me out and told me to not underestimate her. I was hoping that she wasn't just putting on a tough face. I used everything I had left to take down my two opponents as fast as I could. They were pretty surprised at what I had left because one of them didn't last very long. The other however pulled out all of his stops then seeing what happened to his pal, because killing him took longer than I would have liked. But in the end, the bells tolled for him and not me. I looked for Yuki and saw he standing over her opponents corpse. I was relieved at first that she had won. That was until she turned to face me and I saw the extent of her injuries. She tried to walk over to me, but she stumbled and fell before she could reach me. I was no medic. All I could do was try and bandage her up and hope I could make it back to Konoha in time. That was the first time in my entire career as a ninja that I felt I had truly and completely failed. Were the lives of my comrades worth killing those missing-nin? To me, certainly not. Killing them was not even our mission. Jun may have been willing to throw his life away for those civilians, but Akio was certainly not. Yuki was willing, but I doubt she had planned to die on that mission. I have no moral at the end of this story. Take from it what you will._

Naruto stared at the last page of that entry in the book. That was the worst story he had ever read or heard. Was he becoming a ninja just so he could experience thing like that? He didn't want to die. But no, he was no scaredy cat, he didn't want to run away just because he was afraid. Then no one would acknowledge him. He would protect people, like Jun had, but he would be the best ninja in the world, he wouldn't have to die to protect the people he cared about. He'd stay alive so he could be there whenever they needed him.

"I'll be a... a.... a super ninja!" Naruto said to himself with determination.

The next day, Naruto woke up to gently shaking him,

"Naruto, come with me, it's important." It was Mitsuru. Naruto rubbed his eyes sleepily,  
"How important?" He asked groggily.  
"Very."  
"OK..." Naruto yawned a little, but pulled on his sandals and followed Mitsuru out of the cave.

Mitsuru led them to a rock that gave them a good view of the slowly brightening sky. It was taking on a pinkish gray color, and the last of the stars were fading away.

"Remember how I told you about the Kyuubi a few days ago?" Mitsuru asked as he motioned for Naruto to sit next to him on the cold stone, and the boy did so.

"Y-yeah..." Naruto looked down, not liking the idea of a _demon _inside of him.

"You need to know who put it in you..." Mitsuru sighed.

"It... it wasn't you was it?" Naruto's eyes widened.

"No, no I'm not nearly skilled enough with sealing to even attempt something like that." Mitsuru shook his head.

"Then who?" Naruto was slightly relieved that it wasn't Mitsuru.  
"The fourth Hokage... Namikaze Minato." The older man replied. Naruto's eyes widened once again, "your father." Now the boys eyes now threatened to pop out of his skull,

"Wh-what?" He asked in a shaky voice.  
"Your father was the fourth Hokage, who sealed the Kyuubi into you to keep it from destroying the village. He died in the process. He had hoped you would be recognized as a hero for taking on such a burden and locking the demon away within yourself... even if you were too young at the time to actually understand what was happening..." Mitsuru explained in a soft voice.

"O-oh..." Naruto just sat there, not sure what to think. It was allot to take in. His entire world had just been shaken and turned upside down in the span of 30 seconds.

"I just... thought you deserved to know..." Mitsuru said, "I'll leave you alone if you need time to think." He felt bad for doing that to the boy so early in the morning. But it seemed like a good time, with less of a risk of Sakura overhearing.  
"N-no... I mean... uhhh... wh-what about my mom?" Naruto asked.

"She had wanted to be as close to Minato-sama as she could during the battle, so she stayed in a field hospital. They didn't have the manpower or the equipment they needed with so many casualties... and... she died in childbirth... if she had been at the hospital in the village maybe she would have made it, but..."  
"I-I... killed her?" Naruto looked on the verge of tears.  
"N-no! No, don't you dare blame yourself! If you hadn't been born so close to the battlefield, then it would have taken longer for your father to seal the demon away. You being born there saved lives. That's how your mother would want to be remembered, that's how you should think of your birth!" Mitsuru argued. Naruto sniffled and wiped away a few tears,

"Wh-what was her name?" He asked.

"Her name was Uzumaki Kushina, she was from the former Whirlpool village." Mitsuru told the boy.

"O-OK... c-can I go back to bed please?" Naruto asked, his voice breaking slightly.

"Of course..." Mitsuru hoped the boy wouldn't have any nightmares, going to sleep with such a troubled mind, "And... I'm sorry, sorry that this was so painful for you..." Naruto just nodded slightly and slowly walked back to the cave.

Mitsuru sat on that rock watching the sun rise. He hated himself. Twice now he had shattered Naruto's view of the world, and twice he had cause the boy pain.  
"I promise you Naruto, I'll try to make it up to you, I'll do everything I can to help you achieve your dreams... even if it kills me." Mitsuru vowed.

Later on, once Naruto had once again awakened, along with Sakura, the training continues as normal. Today they practiced simple taijutsu. However, in the long run it would be much better than the academy taijutsu that was, in Mitsuru's opinion, rather inadequate. As the day pressed on, Mitsuru noticed that Naruto was being very quiet, and even a bit moody. Not like him at all. He complained more than normal when he was having trouble with something, and he was even more stubborn than normal, to a fault. Sakura had noticed too, however she just tried to ignore it. Eventually Mitsuru had to do something,

"Naruto, come with me." He ordered. Naruto sighed and followed him away from where they were training. Sakura was a bit confused at their sudden departure, and she wondered if she should try to eavesdrop. She would feel guilty listening in on them, but she was curious none-the-less.

"Alright Naruto, what's wrong with you today." Mitsuru asked.

"Nothing..." Naruto denied there was a problem.

"You're not acting like yourself."  
"Well why should I?" Naruto snapped. Mitsuru sighed, he should have expected this,

"If it's about your fa-"  
"SHUT UP!" Mitsuru's eyes widened, he hadn't expected _that _from Naruto, "Don't mention him!"  
"B-but-"  
"I never want to hear his name again! HE RUINED MY LIFE!" Naruto ranted, "What kind of father does that!?"  
"Uhh..." Mitsuru was at a loss for words, "L-look, he did what he had t-"  
"Well why me? WHY!?"  
"He couldn't just ask somebody to hand their kid over for something like that... and he didn't really have time to find anyone else anyway." Mitsuru tried to explain things.

"J-just leave me alone!" Naruto shouted, on the verge of tears, and ran off. Mitsuru sighed,  
"Dammit... now what do I do?" He looked up at the sky and ran a hand through is hair, "this sucks..." A definite understatement.

- - -

"Now, I'm going to announce the names of the students who have a chance of being the student of the year," Iruka announced. Once the students were at the age of ten, they had a chance of becoming student of the year. First, one male and one female candidate would be chosen. They would be given an award for being the best male and female students, then those two would compete for being _the _student of the year. It was his first time choosing a student of the year, and he was curious to see how it would turn out.

"Hmph, I'm definitely gonna be the best kunoichi." Mia said smugly and smirked at Ino from her seat in the row in front of the blonde girl. They now hated each other and were rivals. Ino found it was hard to keep up with her. Mia being an Uchiha, she had plenty of help at home for training. However, with her fathers help, Ino was doing a fair job.

"The first student is," Iruka began, "Uchiha Sasuke!" No surprise there.

"And now it's my turn." Mia said, waiting for her name to be announced.

"Yamanaka Ino!"

"WHAT!?" Mia's jaw dropped. Ino smirked at the raven haired Uchiha,

"Better luck next year." She taunted.

"I hate you..." Mia's black eyes smoldered with anger,  
"I know."  
"Hmph." Mia turned away from the blonde girl. Ino hated to admit it, but she was surprised she had been chosen over Mia. She wasn't going to be complaining though.

"I-I'm happy for you Ino..." Hinata spoke up after the argument was over. Sitting next to Ino, she often witnessed arguments between her friend and Mia.

"You could do it too you know." Ino replied.

"U-um, well... I don't kn-know..."

"Of course you could, just work harder, I did it didn't I? And I'm not from a prestigious clan like you." Hinata just looked down at her desk in embarrassment.

"OK, now, you two will be competing to earn the title of student of the year," Iruka began, "There will be a series of simple challenges. The first challenge is kunai throwing."

"That's easy." Sasuke said, "ready to lose?" He smirked at Ino.  
"Yeah right!" Ino snapped. Iruka led them to the target practice area outside the academy.

"Alright, begin, Sasuke first." Iruka ordered. Sasuke took a kunai, aimed carefully, and threw it. It hit the ring just next to the bulls eye on the target log.  
"I'll get a bulls eye next time..." He muttered.

"Your turn Ino." Iruka motioned for her to take her shot. Ino took a kunai for herself, aimed... and hit a perfect bulls eye.

"YES!" She shouted excitedly. After two more shots each, Ino won with three bulls eyes in a row. After the first shot, the rest had been easy. Sasuke had managed two bulls eyes, but his first shot had damned him.

The next test was one of endurance, running laps. Ino honestly had no idea how this would turn out. She was in good shape, but so was Sasuke. She had no idea how long he could go before getting tired. She would just have to do her best.

"On three, begin," Iruka said, "One."

The two students looked at each other, and then out at the track they would be running on.

"Two."  
They both prepared to go...

"Three!"  
They ran. They were neck and neck, neither taking the lead. Two laps later, they were both breathing hard, but neither was ready to give in yet. The track was pretty long, and each lap sapped their energy more than the last. On the seventh lap, there were few parts of Ino's body that didn't burn with exhaustion, and her lungs burned twice as badly. What was worse, she was gradually falling behind Sasuke. By the time she was on her ninth lap... Sasuke was on his tenth. She knew it was no good, she had barely made it as far as she had. She gave up. Sasuke was relieved when Ino gave up, he had been winning, but he was exhausted none-the-less.

When Ino heard the final challenge, she wanted to shout for joy. She would win for sure. The challenge was to use the bunshin jutsu to the best of their ability. True to his word, Iruka had taught Ino the bunshin jutsu early due to her dramatic improvement in class.

"Alright, you've both had a rest, time for begin the final challenge," Iruka said, _"I wonder who will win. Sasuke is an Uchiha, and he's living up to the standard of his clan so far. But Ino's been surprising me at every turn with her improvement. She even outdid Mia, an Uchiha!" _He thought, "Alright Ino, you go first this time."  
"OK Sensei!" Ino made the hand seal for the bunshin jutsu, and in three bursts of smoke, as many clones appeared.

"Good, now Sasuke." Iruka nodded at the Uchiha boy. Sasuke frowned slightly, but also attempted the jutsu. He managed three as well.

"It seems we have a tie... umm." _"Dammit, what do I do now?"_

"It's OK sensei!" Ino made the hand seal again, and two more clones of herself appeared, "I win?"  
"Sasuke?" Iruka looked at the boy. Sasuke scowled, but shut his eyes tightly in concentration, also making the bunshin hand seal again. Sasuke also made two more clones, but there was an issue. One of them was discolored and sprawled on the floor. Sasuke's face turned red in embarrassment and he covered it with his hand.  
"Well then Ino, you win! Congratulations on being the student of the year!" Iruka announced with a grin. There were mutters of disbelief from the class as they watched Uchiha Sasuke outdone. Nobody could believe it.

"Yes, YES!" Ino literally jumped for joy, _"I just wish you were here to see this Sakura..." _Though Ino wondered. Sakura had always been so smart, if she had been there, would _she _have been student of the year instead. Then again, Ino had only put in enough effort to win because Sakura wasn't there. If Sakura was still there, things would be as normal. Ino the popular girl with the shy Sakura following her around. She knew that if things were the way they had been, neither of them would have even been nominated. She felt a bit guilty, she was capable of being the student of the year, yet, in the past she would have just put in enough effort to avoid failing. She was trying to be a ninja, how could she have been such a slacker in the past? She decided it didn't matter too much, she was doing just fine now.

Ino walked back to her seat after receiving a piece of paper labeling her as the student of the year. Not exactly the most amazing reward, but the look on Sasuke's face, even if it had been covered by his hand, when he lost was reward enough.

"C-congratulations Ino." Hinata said quietly.

"Did you see the look on Sasuke's face? It was priceless!" Ino laughed.

"Uh, y-yeah..." Hinata mumbled.

"Jeez, you need to get out more, you never look excited when good things happen. I doubt you'd look excited even if _you _won." Ino frowned, "you know, now that I think about it, you always go straight home after class don't you? You've never hung out with me after class! This _has _to change!"

"W-well... it... I... umm..." Hinata didn't know what to say, and she had no where to run or hide, what was the shy girl to do?

"Are you even allowed to leave your home except to go to class?" Ino asked.

"Umm, I-I've never tried to f-find out..." The Hyuuga girl mumbled quietly in reply.

"Well tomorrow I'll walk with you to your house and you can ask if you can hang out with me then!" Ino grinned.

"I-I guess..." Hinata actually smiled a little then. Spending time with a friend outside of the academy might be fun

"Otosan!" Ino shouted excitedly when she arrived home, "Guess what, guess what!" Eventually she found her father,

"Hey, why are you so excited?" He asked.

"I'm..." She pulled out the paper Iruka had given her and held it out proudly, "Student of the year!"  
"That;s great, but what's with the blank piece of paper." Inoichi raised an eyebrow in confusion. Ino blushed with embarrassment when she noticed she was holding the paper backwards, and quickly turned it around so her father could see it, "Ah, you _are _student of the year! That's right, your class would be of age to start competing for it, well congratulations!" Ino giggled happily,  
"Did youever make student of the year?" Ino asked. And her father frowned slightly and sighed,  
"No..." "_And now you're gonna rub that in my face aren't you..." _The mans suspicions were proved right moments later,

"Aha! That means I'll be the strongest kunoichi from this clan ever! I'm already outdoing you!" Ino boasted.  
"Calm down Ino, you have a long way to go before you can outdo me, little girl!" Inoichi put his hands on his hips and glared down at her. Ino looked a little frightened, had she made the man mad? She had just been so excited and- "So, I'm gonna give you a push in the right direction and teach you a clan jutsu!" Her father grinned.

"R-really!?" Ino quickly forgot about her unfounded fears and her eyes widened in excitement.

"Yes, it is the Shintenshin no Jutsu, it's a bit limited in its uses, but knowing it makes learning other jutsus easier, and it can be handy to have in the right situation." Outside, Ino was looking excited, but inside, a small part of her mourned,

_"Now I _really _wish Sakura was here, then I could celebrate with her. Hinata's a good friend, but she is just too quiet to be much fun..." _She held back a sigh and focused on her fathers explanations. Sakura had promised to come back, she could catch up with her then...

- - -

Naruto sat at the base of a tree. He didn't really know where he was at the moment, he had just run until didn't feel like running anymore. He figured he could find his way back eventually, but right now he was busy crying. He felt guilty for yelling at Mitsuru, and the entire situation with the Kyuubi and his father... no, he wouldn't call him that. The entire situation with the Kyuubi and _Minato_ was a painful one. On top of all this, Naruto couldn't help but feel responsible for his mothers death.

"Wh-why me..." He whimpered in between sobs.

"Naruto?" Said boy jumped when the voice suddenly spoke up. He looked to where it had come from,

"S-Sakura? How'd you find me?" He quickly wiped the tears from his face.

"I could hear you crying... and orange isn't very stealthy." She replied.

"Can you just go away..." Naruto looked at the ground.  
"No, not until you tell me what's wrong... I-I heard you arguing with Mitsuru-sensei..." Naruto's eyes widened, how much had she heard?  
"Y-you heard?" Naruto looked at her with fear in his eyes.

"Well, I could hear the yelling, I'm not sure what you were saying though."

"Oh." Naruto felt a bit relieved at that.

"You can tell me though, I won't tell anyone, not that there's anyone around here to tell anyway..." Sakura pried.

"N-no." Naruto shook his head rapidly.  
"Why not?"  
"Y-you'd hate me..." Sakura looked puzzled, what could he have to tell her that would make her hate him?  
"Why would I hate you?"  
"B-because..."  
"Because why?"  
"Just because! I don't wanna tell you!" Naruto shouted.

"P-please? I promise I won't hate you..." Sakura tried to persuade him.

"Y-you promise?" Sakura nodded, "w-well..." Naruto tried to decide if he really wanted to tell her. He decided that he did, he was just afraid of what she'd think, "Do you remember the lesson in class about the Kyuubi attack." Naruto had ignored most of the history lessons in class, but he had remembered that one because the event in question had been on the same day as his birthday... as in the day he was born. In hindsight, it made a lot of sense. The lesson had said that the Kyuubi had launched a vicious attack, but the great Yondaime had sacrificed himself to defeat it. Nobody had been told about Naruto's sacrifice. He was the one who was keeping the damn thing locked up, and what did _he _get for that? Glass thrown at him, and half empty bottles of sake poured on his head by some drunk. But Sakura was looking at him funny since he had stopped talking, so he decided to continue his explanation, "Well, it wasn't entirely true."  
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"The Yondaime didn't kill it." Sakura's eyes widened,

"Wh-what do you mean, of course he did, if he hadn't the village would be gone."  
"He sealed it in me!" Naruto blurted out.  
"Wh... what did you say?" Sakura couldn't have heard that right.

"Think, that was my birthday! The Yondaime was my father so he decided to stop the Kyuubi by sealing it in me OK?!" Naruto felt like crying again now... and not just because of what he had just said, but because of the way Sakura was now looking at him. More like looking through him actually, her gaze was unfocused. She must be terrified of him now, she must hate him! He couldn't stand it anymore. He ran away for the second time that night.

Sakura was vaguely aware that Naruto was running off. Mostly, she was focused on what he had just told her. Saying that he had just dropped a bomb on her would be an understatement. Could it get out? What if it ate her when she was sleeping or something. Naruto had been acting weird that day. Then agian that made sense, he himself must have found out about the demon and his father recently. It would explain him acting all quiet and moody. Should she follow him and talk to him? She _had_ been a bit rude when she had stared at him like that. She should have been nicer. But what if he was mad at her. What if he was so mad that the demon came out and- No! That wouldn't happen! Nothing had ever happened before. Naruto was her friend, he wouldn't hurt her... would he? She didn't want to be scared of Naruto, but she couldn't shake the feeling of fear that was gnawing away at her. She wasn't sure she wanted to talk to Naruto right now anyway. He would probably just run away again, and then he might get lost. She didn't want that to happen. In the end Sakura decided to wait until Naruto came back and talk to him then. Decision made. the pink haired girl glanced in the direction Naruto had run off, and then slowly made her way back to their camp.

It had gotten dark. Naruto had gotten a bit scared then. He was afraid he'd get lost and eaten by some terrible monster. Then again, the scariest monster was already there. It always had been, right there inside of him. He had finally made it back to camp and was relieved to see Mitsuru was waiting for him.

"Naruto, thank Kami! I wanted to go after you, but I thought might need some time alone... I was just about to go look." For a second Naruto didn't believe him, since when had anyone cared, why would they? But then he remembered that Mitsuru was different, and the look on the man's face proved his words to be true.

"Thanks Sensei..." Naruto mumbled.

"Uh, no problem, you OK now?"  
"No... Sakura hates me." Naruto had to keep himself from crying again. It would be embarrassing.  
_"So that's why Sakura looked so spooked, Naruto must have told her..."_ "She knows now?" The boy nodded, "Well, actually she's still awake, you should go talk to her." Mitsuru told Naruto.

"But..."  
"She's on top of the cliff above the cave, just go, OK?"  
"Fine." Naruto muttered, but he wasn't looking forward to it.

"S-Sakura?" Naruto said when he reached where Sakura was. She was sitting down looking at the stars.

"Oh, Naruto, the stars are pretty aren't they?" She smiled at him and pointed up at a particularly bright cluster.

"Uhh, y-yeah." Naruto replied. It was weird, she was acting like nothing had happened. He _had _told her hadn't he? Or maybe he'd just fallen asleep and had a bad dream. But that didn't make sense either. No, it must have happened, he remembered running, being tired from running. And it was obvious from his talk with Mitsuru. He wouldn't have guessed unless he had noticed that Sakura had followed him into the woods.

"You can sit down you know." Sakura told him, "let's see if a shooting star comes! You should think of a wish just in case!"  
"OK..." Naruto sat down, he wondered what he would wish for. Could he wish that the Kyuubi had never happened? That his family was still alive? But no, he doubted a wish like that could come true. He wasn't sure how wishes worked, but he guessed that they probably could only affect the future. He ended up pondering how wishes worked, forgetting that he was supposed to be thinking of one. He didn't really figure anything out. But it didn't matter in the end, no shooting stars came that night. That was OK though, he was just happy that Sakura was still his friend.

* * *

**Longest chapter yet! Naruto may seem a bit out of character, but then again, he's had some depressed/emotional moments in the anime/manga. And with what he has learned, he certainly has an excuse to be depressed/emotional. As usual, I hope I did a good job. (Hint: you can let me know if I did, see that button that says review, if you press it, MAGIC HAPPENS!) Ahem, anyways, I already have part of chapter 6 planned out, so I'll get to work on that soon. Of course, as of this time, I only have a few scattered ideas after that. I better get thinking... -sigh-**

**(Don't worry though, I have a good portion of the ending planned out, you see, Naruto has learned how to- HA! Just kidding, No spoilers for you!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHA!)**


	6. Kitty

**OK, I'd like to thank people for the positive feedback. That does not include you Ace. You are an ass. Also, I made a very embarrassing mistake in the last chapter. It has been fixed, but not before about 300 people were able to see it... -groan-. When I was writing chapter five, I didn't know the name of a certain jutsu, so I wrote down (insert jutsu name here) with the intention of coming back later once I figured out the jutsu name. Yeah, I ummm forgot to do that. So I submitted the chapter with it like that. Yeah... It was supposed to say Shintenshin no Jutsu (Art of the Valentine, A.K.A. Body Transfer Jutsu). I hope I didn't lose any readers for that mistake... oi. I'll definitely be more careful in the future.**

**Due to a few complaints, I'm just going to say something. If you don't like what I do in this chapter, please keep reading. Any concerns will be dealt with, trust me. If you need more clarification as to what exactly I'm talking about, read all the way until the end.**

* * *

**Kitty**

Naruto was once again back to his usual cheerful self, much to Mitsuru's relief. He had become very attached to the boy, and seeing him in such a depressed state had been hard. Sakura was also glad to see her friend feeling better. She had been afraid that in the forest that night she had hurt his feelings by just standing there like an idiot when he had told her about the demon. She had just been so shocked. But then later on the cliff looking out at the stars with him, well, everything just seemed right again.

Naruto felt good. Great actually. Sure, he had a demon in him, but Sakura was still his friend even after learning about it. When he had gone to talk to her on the cliff, he had been afraid, but then she had acted like nothing had ever happened. If anything, she had been nicer to him than ever before. Sure it had been a bit awkward when she'd fallen asleep... on his shoulder. He hadn't been quite sure what to do. Eventually he had tried to pick her up and carry her, but she was heavier than he'd expected, and there was no way he could have gotten her back down to the bottom of the cliff without waking her up. So he'd given up on that idea and waited for her to wake up... and then he'd fallen asleep.

Later on when Naruto had woken up on his back, aching in numerous places from sleeping on the cold rocks, he'd tried to get up only to find Sakura was still asleep... and latched onto his arm. So he had decided once again to wait. He hadn't really wanted to, as he had been starving and he knew there was a cup of instant ramen waiting for him back in the cave. That and apparently Sakura drooled in her sleep because his shoulder had felt a bit wet. Eventually Sakura had woken up. For some reason her face had turned a bit red and she had quickly pulled away from him. A moment later though she had smiled at him and giggled a little saying good morning. He wasn't sure why but that had made him feel happy and he had broken into a grin. In fact, just the memory made him happy.

Naruto had almost always woken up before Sakura, and he would either be eating, reading his book, or getting a head start on training by the time she woke up. But then, the morning after the morning on the cliff, he had decided to do something a bit different. Ignoring his growling stomach, he had waited for Sakura to wake up. Just as on the cliff, she had smiled and said good morning. And just as on the cliff it had made him feel happy. He didn't know why, but he figured it was worth waiting to eat his ramen every morning. And not many things made Naruto put his ramen on hold.

That morning, Mitsuru began thinking. Naruto and Sakura now had learned most, if not all, of the basics. It was time to take things up a notch, maybe two. Sakura had already learned a few genjutsu. Naruto knew one as well, not that he would ever use it after what happened last time. Poor kid. Now, Mitsuru figured, it was time for them to start learning about jutsu. Well, Naruto had mastered the Mizu Bunshin no jutsu, but Sakura hadn't learned anything like that. Hell, he hadn't even learned what her element was. And speaking of elements he should really teach Naruto a wind jutsu, that was his element after all.

"You two awake yet?" Mitsuru called into the cave. He had been doing his thinking while sitting on a rock just outside the entrance. There was no answer, "Guys?" Still no answer, "It's way past time for you two to be awake!" He was getting a bit annoyed now. _"Lazy little..." _He cut off that line of thought before it led to something he'd regret. He got up with sigh and walked into the cave to find the two wide awake, and attempting not to laugh, "I assume this was your idea Naruto?" Mitsuru raised an eyebrow at the boy.

"Nah, it was Sakura's!" Naruto pointed at the girl.

"Naruto! You liar!" Sakura shouted in reply.  
"Well now that your little trick is over, can we get to training?" Mitsuru asked.

"OK!" Replied the ever eager Naruto.

Mitsuru instructed the two to sit down on the ground outside the cave where there was more light, and then sat down on a nearby tree stump himself.  
"Alright, I'm gonna be teaching you much more advanced stuff from now on-" He was interrupted by Naruto's shout of excitement,  
"YES!"  
"Ahem," Mitsuru returned the focus to himself, "First off, the five elements. Fire, water, earth, wind, and lightning. Fire beats wind, water beats fire, wind beats lightning which beats earth, which beats water."  
"But earth doesn't conduct lightning sow how can lightning beat it?" Sakura asked.

"Uhh... well... it just does OK?" Mitsuru replied.

"Prove it!"  
"Wh- no! Not now anyway."  
"Bu-"  
"NO BUTS!"

"Y-yes sensei..." Sakura said sheepishly.

"Wait, didn't you say wind and earth clash? Then why doesn't one of them beat the other?" Naruto spoke up. Mitsuru was surprised the boy had made the connection, seeing as how he was usually so dense, "Well, wind and earth cancel each other out, neither has a better chance of beating the other. Another example is lightening can travel through water, but at the same time, a water jutsu can absorb a lightning jutsu if used correctly, thus canceling it out."

"Oh, I get it... kinda..." Naruto laughed nervously. And there was the denseness. Mitsuru felt a bit disappointed, he had been hoping that maybe Naruto had suddenly jumped up a few IQ levels. Oh well.

"So, if a person has a chakra type that beats yours, you're doomed right?" Sakura asked.

"Absolutely... not," Mitsuru began, "Even if a fire user faces a water user, they can easily win if they are a better ninja. First off, a water type is not immune to fire, they can get burned just as easily as anyone else. That, and chakra types have no say in who is better at taijutsu."  
"Oh, that makes sense..." Sakura said.

"Alright, next thing, Sakura come here." Mitsuru pulled something out of his pocket as Sakura walked over. Naruto recognized it as another of the special pieces of paper that could tell a person their chakra type, "Now, Sakura, send your chakra into this piece of paper." The man said as he handed said paper to the pink haired girl.

"Umm, OK." Sakura looked a bit confused, but took the paper and did as she was told. The paper quickly turned to dust, "Wh-what happened!? I-I'm sorry I-" Sakura's panicked ramble was interrupted as Mitsuru gently placed a hand over her mouth,

"It's fine Sakura," he removed his hand, "that was supposed to happen."  
"I-it was?" Sakura didn't understand.

"Yep, congratulations, you're an earth type, just like me!" Mitsuru grinned. That made sense, Naruto now remembered that Mitsuru had told him that. In a way, he felt a bit jealous, Sakura would be able to get better training because she had the same chakra type as Mitsuru

"OK, now that you both know your chakra type-"  
"Wait, what's Naruto's type?" Naruto hadn't done the paper test, so how could they know?

"I already did the test with Naruto earlier." Mitsuru explained, "he has wind chakra."

"Oh... well why didn't you test me then?" Sakura scowled.  
"Errr, well..." "_Shit... I got nothin..."_ Mitsuru thought nervously.

"Well?" Sakura demanded.

"I forgot?" The man replied with a helpless shrug. Sakura just glared, _"I'm doomed if she gets angry enough. She has a damn scary temper sometimes..."_ Indeed, the normally sweet girl had her moments. Fortunately for him, Naruto was usually on the receiving end. And fortunately for said boy, those moments were pretty rare... for now. Mitsuru had a feeling that Sakura would be much scarier when she got older and a bit more confident, "Anyway, as I was saying," Mitsuru decided to continue the lesson before he somehow made himself terrified of a cute little pink haired girl, as that would be embarrassing, "now that we all know everyone's chakra types, I am going to explain all the different kinds of jutsu."

"Cool!" Naruto grinned.

"Indeed, anyway, first off is genjutsu," Naruto groaned at this, "quiet you, now, genjutsu works by manipulating the chakra flow to the target's brain. However, this means that disrupting that flow will break the genjutsu. There are two ways to do this. First is the release technique, which temporarily cuts off the flow of chakra to your head. The other way requires someone else to send their chakra into you, I'll teach you both how to do those things later." Sakura was paying attention as usual, but what surprised him was that Naruto also seemed to be interested. Then again maybe it wasn't so surprising, it made sense that Naruto would want to be able to repel genjutsu seeing as how he hated them. A lot.

"What about ninjutsu!?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"Yes yes, I'm getting to that!" Mitsuru scowled, "now ninjutsu has dozens of uses. From clones-"  
"Aren't clones genjutsu?" Sakura interrupted.

"The simple ones I taught you are, but the other types, like Naruto's Mizu Bunshin are ninjutsu." Sakura scowled at Naruto at the mention of the water clones. He hadn't pulled that prank in a while, and the glare was a reminder to not start doing it again any time soon.

"I-I'll be good..." Naruto laughed nervously.

"Ahem, back to the lesson, ninjutsu can be used for clones, attacks, and summoning."

"What's summoning?" Naruto asked.

"Well, summoning is part ninjutsu, and part fuuinjutsu." Mitsuru explained.

"But what does it do?" Naruto asked once more.

"You wanna see?" Mitsuru raised an eyebrow.  
"Yeah!" Naruto and Sakura both said.

"OK THEN! Kyuchiyose no Jutsu, Tsume!" Mitsuru slammed his palm on the ground, and there was a burst of smoke,

"Oh great, what the hell do you want now you arrogant bastard?" A slightly high pitched voice asked.

"Oh shut it, and will you watch the language in front of children?" Mitsuru replied. As the smoke cleared, the voice was revealed to belong to... a cat.  
"Children, who the hell would have children with _you, _I mean... hey, those aren't yours! They can't be, they don't look a thing like you, what did you do, adopt?" The cat looked over Naruto and Sakura. It was brown with lighter brown stripes and wore a light green cloth vest with a red hem. It also had an emblem on the back of a small blue diamond.

"They're not mine," Mitsuru explained, "This is Haruno Sakura, and Namikaze Naruto." Naruto immediately looked upset at being called by his father's surname. Sakura looked confused for a moment, but then remembered that Namikaze _would_ be Naruto's last name if circumstances had been different.

"N-Namikaze? The fourth's son? How the hell did you end up with _him_?!" The cat, who must be named Tsume, almost choked in surprise.  
"Long story... but for now I am just using you to demonstrate what summons are. I am teaching them to be ninja, just be content with that for now, OK cat?"  
"Fine fine..." The cat grumbled.

"Umm, how can it talk?" Naruto asked.

"All summons can talk!" The cat snapped, "don't look at me like I'm some freak of nature! Show some respect!"  
"Yeah Naruto, come on." Sakura giggled amusedly.

"At least the girl is smart." Tsume said and padded over to her, "Sakura right?"  
"Yeah, can I pat you?" She asked. The cat considered it for a moment then nodded,

"You may." Sakura giggled once more as she patted the cat,  
"You're soft!"  
"Of course, I groom myself regularly!" Tsume said pridefully.

"I don't like him!" Naruto crossed his arms with a 'hmph.'

"Yeah, he's pretty annoying." Mitsuru agreed, "but he's my first summon and he's useful so I keep him around. We get along well enough when we have to."

"Yes, when we have to... and that's it..." Tsume replied, sounding a bit annoyed.

Suddenly Naruto's eyes widened,

"Wait, can I summon kitties?!" Naruto shouted excitedly  
"Kitties? We are cats, not kitties!" Tsume growled.

"What, no not _you_!" Naruto replied.

"Wait wait, you mean caterpillars?" Mitsuru asked with a raised eyebrow. There was no way he could still be using the wrong word...

"Yeah!" Naruto grinned. OK... so maybe he really _was _that dense. Mitsuru sighed,

"Well, I guess, but to summon something, you need the contract scroll, and I don't have one for caterpillars... if one even exists." Naruto hung his head sadly upon hearing this. Tsume sighed,

"Look, you may be a brat, but you're young and learning so I'll cut you some slack." Tsume said, "I _might _be able to get you the scroll for those kinds of summons, but I'll need some time."  
"Really!?" Naruto's face brightened.

"Yes, under one condition." Tsume said.

"Anything!"  
"Catch me three fish, with you bare hands." Tsume stated his demands.

"Huh?"  
"You heard me."  
"B-but, I don't know how to catch fish like that..." In fact, Naruto had never caught a fish in his life.

"Well, I can give you a few hints, but aside from that, I guess you have some learning to do."

"GAH!" Naruto shouted in surprise as a fish slapped him in the face repeatedly and then flipped out of his grasp.

"Don't tell me a few bitch slaps from a fish are going to make you give up..." Tsume muttered from the rock he was currently sunbathing on as he waited for Naruto.

"No! And what's a bitch slap?" Naruto gave the cat a puzzled look.

"Err, never mind, just keep trying." Tsume gestured at the river with a paw and then wrapped his tail around himself to resume sun bathing.

"But it's haaard!" Naruto whined, "can't you help at least a little?" Tsume stared at the boy for a moment, but then sighed and stood. The cat padded over to the edge of the river, though a bit farther upstream than Naruto. He stood at the edge of the water, staring down into it. Suddenly, the cat lunged forward and lashed out with a paw. A small fish was flung out of the water and flopped up and down for dear life on the rocky shore.

"There, that's how it's done. Oh, and now you have to catch four." Tsume said and smacked the fish back into the water, "And that one doesn't count! So don't bother catching it." Naruto groaned, but went back to trying to catch a fish.

"AHA- AAAAAAAAAAH!" Naruto lunged at a fish, but slipped and fell face first onto a submerged rock, "OWWW!"  
"You really are hopeless, aren't you?" Tsume muttered.

"Grr! I'll get the next one!"  
"You're bleeding."  
"Wh-what?"  
"Your nose... it is bleeding." Tsume repeated.

"GAH!" Naruto quickly placed a hand over his nose. When he pulled it away a moment later, it had blood on it. Naruto gave an exasperated moan, but ignored it, not giving up on his hunt just yet. He stared into the fish filled water, finding the fish wasn't the issue, though sometimes he had to move to a different part of the stream. It was the catching part. They were fast, slippery, and some even a bit spiny. That and they seemed to be able to teleport. Tsume called it 'refraction' or whatever that meant. Whatever refraction was, the fish seemed to not be were they were just seconds before when he tried to grab them, and they would then quickly swim away. How had Tsume done it? He had swatted the fish out of the water so easily... Naruto then had an idea. He waited until he saw a fish... and then charged.

"What the hell is that ki- GAH!" Tsume's eyes widened and he had to leap out of the way as a projectile fish suddenly went flying at him, "ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME!?"

"HAHA! I GOT ONE!" Naruto cheered.

"YOU KICKED THE DAMN THING AT MY FACE!" Tsume roared in anger.

"I still got it..." Naruto scowled. Tsume sighed, it hadn't been a graceful catch, but he _had _gotten out of the water,  
"Fine fine, but you still have to get three more, and don't aim them at me!" Tsume grumbled.

After a half and hour of 'fish soccer' Naruto met his quota.  
"He... kicked them?" Mitsuru twitched.

"Yeah... nearly killed me with the first one." Tsume muttered dejectedly.  
"How very... Narutoish." Mitsuru stroked his chin thoughtfully, "so, you gonna try and get the scroll now?"  
"Yes yes..." Tsume replied, "I'm going to go back, summon me again in 24 hours and I'll tell you how it went."

"Gotcha." Mitsuru nodded. Tsume nodded as well, and then the cat disappeared in a burst of smoke.

"So... fish kicking eh?" Mitsuru said to Naruto.

"Yep! Grabbing them was too hard, so I just knocked them right out of the water!" Naruto grinned.

"Right... err, good innovation... I guess." _"I really found a... well... special one, didn't I?"_

"But now you're foot is all scratched up..." Sakura pointed out. Indeed, Naruto's right foot was now wrapped in bandages.

"Yeah, some of those fish are sharp!" Naruto pointed at one of his catches, and more specifically the spines in it's dorsal fin.

"Right, well, the next time you go fish wrangling, I don't suggest kicking them, use kunai. or something." Mitsuru said.

"But kicking is fun!" Naruto argued.  
"Yeah, but having a river parasite crawl inside your wound, not so fun."  
"P-parasite?"  
"They eat you... from the inside out."

Naruto never caught fish with his feet ever again.

Tsume padded through the home of the cat summons. Eventually he found a tiger sized cat with a similar fur pattern to his own. The only difference was that this cat's vest had a red diamond on the back. That and he was currently asleep.

"Wake up." Tsume prodded the sleeping cat with his paw. The larger feline groggily raised his it's head,

"Tsume? What do you want?"  
"Shuseki, I need your help." Tsume explained.

"Eh?"  
"I am doing someone a favor, I challenged them to do a task, they completed it, now I must fulfill my end of the bargain."  
"And what would that end be?" The large cat asked.

"Are there any caterpillar summons in existence?" Tsume asked.

"Eh? Well, yeah, but the bastards are damn annoying. Always going on about how beautiful they are or will be when they go through their metamorphosis."  
"Right, well, I am trying to get the contract scroll for them."  
"Who are you doing this for?"  
"The fourth Hokage's son." The larger cat didn't seem to phased by this.

"Hm, interesting, well alright, I'll see if I can't find a way to contact them, maybe the boss knows a way." The larger cat was a Shuseki, the head of one group of the cat summons. There were three ranks, or groups. Tsume was in the lowest rank, made up of the smallest of the cats. The next rank contained bigger cats, and the final grouping contained the massive cats that could smash even the greatest trees with ease. That group also contained their boss. Or as he preferred to be called, their King. Usually, only the Shuseki's would converse with the King, and that was why Tsume had went to his.

"Hmm, I see." The King looked thoughtful, his massive tail swaying to and fro in thought, "I see no reason to not do this. I have no pressing matters to deal with at the moment." The King was huge. He had dark black fur and large saber fangs that protruded from his mouth. He wore a vest like Tsume's only it had a red hem with a red star on the back. He also had an eye patch. The only fur that wasn't black was a white streak going from his forehead, running under the eye patch, and down to his chin. The white fur hid that scar that was likely from the wound that had cost him his eye in some long ago battle.

"Thank you my King." Tsume bowed his head. The Shuseki had gotten him an audience with the King, and so far, so good.

"Follow me, small one." The King ordered. Tsume followed the King to a circle of stones with a flat, round rock in the center. The King pressed his huge paw down on the circular stone, and it glowed and in a burst of smoke a large butterfly that could probably carry away an average sized man if it wished.

"Why have I been summoned?" The butterfly's proboscis quivered as it spoke.

"There is a boy that wishes the ability to summon your kind, one of my underlings was tasked with getting him your contract scroll." The King explained, gesturing to Tsume with his tail.

"It is about time a human desired to gaze upon our beauty, it has been far too long." The over sized insect said, "fine, we will send a scroll carrier to find this boy, but where will he be located?"  
"I will be summoned within about 18 hours to tell them whether or not I succeeded, tell me where I can find you and I will lead you to them, or them to you." Tsume explained.  
"Them?" The butterfly asked.

"Well the boy is not alone, his sensei is who will be summoning me."

"I see..."

"Go to sleep..." Sakura groaned tiredly.  
"Sorry, but I'm too excited!" Naruto replied.  
"Ugh." Sakura turned over on her sleeping pad. Every time she was about to fall asleep, Naruto made some noise that kept her awake. Not feeling sleep come to her after a few moments, Sakura turned over again so she could face Naruto, "Why caterpillars, they're creepy! Too many legs..."  
"They're fuzzy!" Naruto argued.  
"So are cats!"  
"Cat's aren't as cool!"  
"Tsume was cool!"  
"SOME PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP YOU KNOW!" Mitsuru suddenly yelled, causing a badly startled Naruto to jump and hide behind Sakura, clinging to her tightly.  
"N-Naruto, what are you doing?" Sakura whispered.

"Sorry..." Naruto replied and let go.

"Just go to sleep." Sakura grumbled. Naruto tried, but after being so excited, and scared half to death, he couldn't fall asleep. That and his stomach was tingling in a strange way. Part of him couldn't help but remember how soft Sakura's skin had felt when he had been clinging to her moments ago... weird.

"Sakura..." A voice called out, but there was no response, "Sakura." The voice said a bit louder, but again there was no response, "Alright, then I guess I'll have to do it... Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu! Now... wake up!"

A moment later, Sakura woke up sputtering and coughing. And soaking wet.

"N-Naruto!?" She glared.  
"You're sleeping late." Naruto explained.  
"Gee, I wonder why..." Sakura said, sounding very annoyed. She then shivered, "great, now I'm cold!"

"I'm not..." Naruto looked confused.

"You're not drenched with water!" Sakura angrily threw her wet sheets off of herself.  
"Oh... ummm.... well then... I know!" Naruto suddenly hugged Sakura.

"N-Naruto what are you doing?!" Sakura squirmed slightly.

"If I'm warm then you'll be warm right?" Naruto obviously had no idea how awkward the position was for Sakura. Though she _did _feel a bit warmer. Of course that might have something to do with why her cheeks were starting to turn red.

"Umm, well... I uh..."  
"Aww, well isn't this cute." A voice said, and then laughed.

"Oh hi sensei! Sakura was cold so I was trying to warm her up!" Naruto explained. Mitsuru shook his head,

_"I'll never understand the way this kid's mind works..." _Mitsuru thought, "I think getting into dry clothes would help more."  
"Y-yeah, so let go!" Sakura tried to push Naruto off.

"OK." Naruto did as she told asked and let go, "hey wait, why is your face red, are you sick?" He sounded a bit worried now.

"I'm fine!" Sakura snapped and walked over to her backpack which held her clothes while staying in the cave.

"O-OK..." Naruto said. He wasn't sure about her face being red, but he was sure that Sakura's skin really was as soft as he thought it had been, even when wet. Though he still had no clue why that was so fascinating to him.

"Now?"  
"No..."  
"How about now?"  
"I just said no!"  
"Pleeeeeaaaasse!?"  
"For the last time no! Now stop begging!" Mitsuru scolded Naruto once again, "It's only one more hour to wait, be patient!"  
"Fine..." Naruto didn't want to wait though, he wanted to summon kitties _now, _"are you sure we can't-"  
"Yes I am sure! Now shut it!"

"Bu- OW! Sakuraaaa!" At this point, Sakura could no longer stop herself from pinching Naruto to shut him up. It had been months since she had been forced to resort to it, but it was just as effective as ever.

"Be quiet, gosh!" Sakura scolded, sounding rather scary in her annoyance.

"Y-yes ma'am." Naruto mumbled in defeat.

Finally, the last hour rolled past,

"Now?!" Naruto asked excitedly.

"No." Mitsuru said.  
"WH-what!? Why not!?" Naruto slumped in disappointment.

"Just kidding!" Mitsuru grinned. Sakura giggled in amusement.

"N-not funny!" Naruto pouted.

"Yes it was!" Sakura giggled more and smiled.

"Y-yeah well..." Naruto groaned, but seeing Sakura smile he couldn't stay in a bad mood for long. That and he was about to get his kitties... he hoped.  
"Alright, Kyuchiyose no Jutsu! Tsume!" Mitsuru placed his palm to the ground and the cat appeared in a burst of smoke.

"Kitties!?" Naruto asked anxiously.

"Stop saying kitties!" Tsume snapped, "the proper term is _caterpillars_!"  
"Whatever!" Naruto grumbled, "so?" Tsume was silent, staring deep into Naruto's eyes. To be honest, it creepy.

"Yes."  
"YEAH!!!!!" Naruto jumped up and down in jubilation, and then hugged the next thing he found... which was a tree, "OW!!!" He shouted when a broken branch jabbed him in the stomach. Sakura sighed,  
"Are you OK?" She asked. Naruto laughed nervously,

"Y-yeah..." He grinned despite the pain in his stomach.  
"I am wondering if I really should have done you this favor now..." Tsume sighed, "ah but it's too late."  
"So where's the scroll thingy?" Naruto asked.

"About that... wait here." Tsume said and suddenly ran off into the woods.

"Well, looks like we have more waiting to do..." Mitsuru said.

"Awwwwww!!" Naruto slumped and hung his head.

"Don't whine! You got what you wanted didn't you?" Sakura pointed out.

"But I don't wanna wai- OW!" Naruto became the victim of Sakura smacking the back of his head.

"Oooh, better watch out kid, she's taking things up a notch!" Mitsuru laughed. Naruto whimpered.

"I wonder what he's doing." Mitsuru stroked his chin in thought. Naruto just groaned impatiently. Again. That was groan number 35 if Sakura had been keeping track right. Of course she had only started counting after she'd gotten bored. So it was probably closer to groan number 79. Mitsuru had decided to try explaining fuuinjutsu while they waited, but Naruto wasn't focusing so he'd given up.  
"Huh? What's that?" Sakura pointed at something flying over the trees in the distance.

"It's big... too big." Mitsuru said. He couldn't think of many birds that large. In fact, he couldn't think of _any_ birds that large.

As the thing got closer it turned out to be...  
"Is that a fucking butterfly?" Mitsuru's eyes widened.  
"Sensei..." Sakura said.  
_"Oh shit... stupid! watch your language!"_  
"What's that word mean?" The girl asked innocently.  
"Nothing... it's a stupid word don't use it." Mitsuru replied.  
"Uhh... OK..." Sakura wasn't really paying attention as she was now staring at the huge butterfly that was quickly heading towards them. Moments later it gently touched down before them, and Tsume jumped off its back. The butterfly also had a large scroll tightly wrapped up in its proboscis.  
"One scroll for the blond kid." Tsume announced.  
"That's not a kitty..." Naruto mumbled, still in awe of the huge insect. Tsume sighed,  
"Caterpillars turn into butterflies, sign the scroll it has and you'll get your damn kitties." Tsume growled.  
"Oh... AWESOME!" Naruto cheered. The butterfly unraveled its proboscis and laid the scroll on the ground. Mitsuru walked over and opened the scroll. He saw that it only had two names in it as of now.  
"OK Naruto, you'll have to sign it in blood." Mitsuru explained.  
"B-blood?" Naruto's eyes widened, "th-that's not funny!"  
"I'm serious." Mitsuru replied. Naruto gulped,  
"Uh... O-OK..." He reluctantly walked over to the scroll.  
"Now, pierce your heart and let the blood flow onto the scroll." Mitsuru instructed. Naruto nearly fainted,

"WHAT! NOOO!" Sakura shouted. Mitsuru winced,

"Sorry sorry, I kinda overdid it there." He laughed nervously, "just kidding?"  
"JERK!" Naruto glared.  
"Just slice open your thumb, it'll sting but you'll live." Mitsuru said. Naruto grumbled, but he nervously took the kunai Mitsuru offered him and held it to his thumb,  
"OW! Ow ow ow ow ow ow!!" Naruto bit his lip as he watched blood flow out of his now sliced thumb. He followed Mitsuru's instructions and signed the scroll.

"And you're done! Congratulations kid!" Mitsuru grinned, "Now, you'll need blood each time you want to summon, so-"  
"WHAT?!" Naruto's eyes widened. Then again, he recalled Mitsuru biting his thumb the two times he'd summoned Tsume...  
"It's not so bad when you get used to it, and it's not like you summon every day." Mitsuru tried to comfort the boy.  
"I guess." Naruto mumbled.  
"Well, now that it is signed I'll be off." Naruto jumped at the unexpected voice. It turned out that it was the butterfly which had been silent up until then. It grabbed the scroll, and then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

". . . GAH! WAIT! I don't know the hand seals!" Naruto stared at the now empty space and hung his head in defeat.

"Don't worry kid, I read the scroll, I got the right seals right here." Mitsuru pointed at his head.

"Wow, really!?" Naruto's eyes widened, the man hadn't looked at the scroll for more than a minute!  
"I got a good memory, now, before the blood on your thumb completely dries, give the technique a try!" Mitsuru suggested and told Naruto the proper hand seals. Sakura groaned, he was probably gonna summon some big nasty bug! Maybe if she was lucky he'd summon another butterfly, they weren't so bad.

"Now, picture what you want to summon, and then use a bunch of chakra." Mitsuru explained. He wondered how the boy would do on his first try. Thanks to the Kyuubi he should have enough chakra, so...  
"OK!" Naruto finished the hand seals, "Now a bunch of chakra..." He muttered, and then said out loud "Kyuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Sakura's eyes widened, that was a lot of chakra he was using, how could he have so much? That line of thought was cut off by what happened next.

"What the...?"

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**And the next chapter is completed! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. *resists urge to beg fro reviews* I tried to show some NaruSaku interactions. The first of many perhaps? We shall see. Al I have left to say is that in the next chapter... the plot... THICKENS!!!**

**Translations: Shuseki = head/leader  
Fuuinjutsu = sealing jutsu**

**Now, if you're reading this, you probably read my other note at the beginning. Yes. Naruto summons caterpillars. A few people apparently don't like this. Either because they think it's stupid, or because they think it will cause plot issues. Ie, how can Naruto beat Pein without sage mode and his toads!? Well I'm not going to tell you how, but trust me, I've done some thinking and I've come up with a few ideas. Now Pein might not actually appear in this fic, but my point remains, I've thought everything out. Naruto will _not_ need toads to handle the situations he will face. He's not the same Naruto from the manga/anime. Sure he's still a hyperactive moron. But he's been trained better and is a little smarter because of it. And later chapters will prove that, hey, the caterpillars can do some cool shit too.**

**I just wanted to do something different and original, and maybe just a little bit funny too. Maybe this wasn't the best choice, but it was what I did. I'm not changing it. If you don't like it, well, too bad, it's not your fic. If you want things done in a way you like, write your own damn fic.**

**Seriously though, don't stop reading _just_ because of the caterpillar thing, there is an assload of other things going on that are far more important than what Naruto summons. Like the whole Uchiha thing. Forget about that? Yeah, that's a bit more interesting no? Don't you wanna see where that leads? Hm? Well then you better read the rest of the fucking fic eh?**


	7. The Creeping Darkness

**Only... three was it? Reviews? I am VERY disappointed in all of you... VERY (excluding those who actually did review)! . . . OK so I am only saying that because I can't think of anything else to say... -sigh- Chapter 7, enjoy.**

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**The Creeping Darkness**

"We can't just sit and wait anymore Fugaku." Uchiha Itachi said.

"Would it hurt to call me father?" Uchiha Fugaku replied calmly.

"No, I just refuse to do so." Itachi said coldly.

"Am I so horrible?" Itachi's father answered with a raised eyebrow.  
"That does not matter, what does matter is the Kyuubi container." Itachi dismissed the other topic.  
"Well we cannot just send a team out to find him, the Hokage would get suspicious." Fugaku said.

"What we can do, however, is order any team made up entirely of loyalists to our cause to search for the container when they are out on missions." Itachi explained.

"True, but there are nearly no teams with only Uchiha on them, most teams have those who are not loyal to us in them, and the ones that do are in the Military Police force." Fugaku pointed out.

"Then we will have to fix that, I will propose tot he Hokage to allow a special group of the Military Police force, which our clan controls, to go on extended missions out of Konoha."  
"Isn't that what ANBU are for?" Fugaku argued.

"The ANBU are not omnipresent, and many of them must remain in Konoha for defense, patrolling, and protecting the Hokage. A new group dedicated to special missions outside of Konoha however could be useful."  
"You forget Itachi, that's what Chuunin and Jounin are for. They don't just go around doing missions for greedy politicians you know." Itachi sighed, the man had a point. He hated to admit it, but he was starting to run out of ideas to look for the Kyuubi container without drawing attention to themselves. Any overly overt actions could give them away. The Hokage already was suspicious of them, they didn't need to give him a reason to take action. Not yet anyway.

"Fugaku, do you not think that a group made up entirely of Uchiha would be nearly unstoppable?" Itachi suddenly said.

"It would be a force to be reckoned with, yes." Fugaku replied, not sure where his son was going with this.

"Don't you think the Hokage would agree?" Itachi looked his father in the eyes. And what Itachi saw was realization.

"I believe he would..." They now had a plan.

- - -

"Err, what is that?" Naruto asked, pointing at the ground. Mitsuru and Sakura walked over. What had the boy managed on his first attempt at summoning? What they saw was a tiny white sphere,

"Umm, Naruto... that's an egg." Mitsuru sighed.

"A-an egg?" Naruto's jaw dropped. Sakura on the other hand burst out laughing,

"Y-you summoned an egg!" She clutched her stomach as she struggled to not fall over in her mirth.  
"Not funny!" Naruto pouted. Mitsuru looked puzzled though, maybe he _didn't _have enough chakra? Only one way to find out,  
"Hey kid, do you feel tired or drained at all?" The man asked.

"No, I feel fine." Naruto replied.

"Oh, well in that case keep trying."

- - -

"Aha! You're smiling!" Ino pointed at her friend.  
"I-I guess I am... wh-why?" Hinata replied, her smile fading, being replaced with a look of confusion.  
"It means you're enjoying the taste of freedom!" Ino held her arms out wide and twirled around once. She had managed to help Hinata get permission to go out into the village with her. This was the fourth time they had been out and about with each other, and Hinata seemed to be enjoying it, "You _are_ having fun right?"  
"Y-yeah..." Hinata replied shyly.

"Oh come on start smiling again!" Ino poked Hinata's cheek, causing the girl to flinch. Hinata tried, but it was painfully obvious that the smile was forced... and really awkward looking. Ino giggled,  
"Wow, you suck at smiling!" She said.

"I-I do?"  
"Yeah!" Ino dragged the girl over to window so Hinata could see her reflection somewhat, "now try smiling again!" Hinata did as she was told and ended up with the same awkward smile.

"Th-that's my s-smile!?" Hinata's face turned red with embarrassment and she covered it with her hands.

"Oh come on, it's not_ that_ bad! It's great when you don't force it."  
"It is?" Hinata peeked out form behind her hands.

"Yep," Ino suddenly grinned evilly, "I'll prove it."  
"I-Ino-chan... wh-why are you looking at me like that?" The Hyuuga girl tried to back away, but she was too slow. Ino lunged at the girl and started viciously... tickling her.

"I-Ino! St-stop! No!" Hinata said in between laughter, "I... I can't... b-breathe!" Eventually she gave up on escape and focused on trying to breathe while she was forced to laugh by her, at the moment cruel, friend.

"Now look!" Ino shoved the laughing girl in front of the window and Hinata saw a girl with a cute smile looking back at her... and that girl was herself, "see? Not bad is it?"  
"N-no..." In fact Hinata was so pleased that she kept on smiling just like that.

"What are you two laughing about?" Said a very snobbish voice. Ino groaned,

"Mia... you just had to show your ugly little face didn't you!" The blonde girl snapped.

"Ugly?!" Mia glared, "who are you calling ugly!?"  
"Oh, and stupid too! You can't tell I am talking about you?" Ino laughed.

"I'll kill you!" Mia lunged forward to slap Ino, but the blonde gracefully side-stepped and tripped her.

"Well have fun playing in the dirt! Come on Hinata, let's go get dango!" Ino grabbed Hinata's hand and dragged the startled girl off in the direction of the dango shop.

- - -

In the Hokage tower, something sinister was happening.

"Uchiha Itachi... what brings you to my office today?" The Sandaime asked.  
"As you know Hokage-sama," Itachi began, doing his best to sound respectful, "we have enemies, even if it has been peaceful for some time."  
"We are a ninja village, of course we have enemies, I trust you did not come here to tell me things I already know, I am not _that _old."  
"Of course not, I have a proposal to make." Itachi said.  
"I see, and what would that be?" The Hokage asked, a hint of suspicion in his voice.

"A team made up of only Uchiha, as you should know, a one on one fight with an Uchiha is very foolish, so a team with only Uchiha would be nearly unstoppable." Itachi explained.

"Yes, I suppose a group of Uchiha _would _be formidable, but I prefer teams to have variety..." The Hokage countered.

"Obviously each member of the team would have their individual skills." Itachi parried.  
"I am sure you already have a team in mind?" The Sandaime asked.

"Of course, everything is prepared should you authorize it." Itachi nodded.

"Hm, and what would this team do?"  
"Long range reconnaissance missions that are likely to turn dangerous, missions that other teams would find too difficult or dangerous." Itachi explained.

The Hokage sighed. He could not deny that such a team would be a valuable asset. He knew that denying it would show obvious distrust, and that could cause issues. He had no ways to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the Uchiha were up to no good. He didn't like it, but he gave Itachi permission to form his group.

_"Something tells me I am going to regret that..." _The Sandaime thought with a sigh as Itachi left.

- - -

"Onii-san!" Sasuke said when he saw Itachi returning to the Uchiha district, "train with me!" Itachi scowled at his little brother for a moment, but then sighed. He knew why the boy was asking, he had an almost insatiable drive to get stronger after his humiliating defeat by the Yamanaka girl. And Itachi knew that with what he had planned, it would be best that the boy was well trained.

"Fine, but only for a short time, I have things to attend to..." Itachi said.

"Yes!" Sasuke was excited, it wasn't often that Itachi took the time to help him train, and it seemed that those times where becoming more and more scarce.  
"We'll work on your weapons throwing, you have good aim, but I want it to be better." Itachi said. Sasuke nodded, he didn't care too much about what he learned, as long as it made him stronger.

- - -

"Kyuchiyose no Jutsu!" Naruto shouted for the... well Sakura had lost count at this point. He had summoned egg after egg after egg. At one point he had gotten better. He had summoned two eggs. To stave off her boredom, Mitsuru had tried to teach her an earth jutsu. They had made some progress, but Naruto's incessant shouts of frustration had made it hard to concentrate. And Mitsuru wanted to stay and help Naruto, and he couldn't be in two places at once to help Sakura as well. So she had tried to work in the same place. Eventually she had given up when she couldn't stand focusing and listening to Naruto at the same time. That and she had run low on chakra. "I-I DID IT!" Naruto shouted.

"Huh?" Mitsuru said and walked over. Indeed he had done it... kinda. He had summoned a two inch caterpillar, not much use in a fight, "well, it's something."

"But it's so small..." Sakura frowned.

"It's fuzzy!" Naruto grinned and stroked the tiny creature. The caterpillar reared its small, shiny black head up to get a better look at Naruto... and then disappeared in a burst of smoke, "GAH! What happened?"  
"It dismissed itself and went home." Mitsuru explained, "sometimes they do that." Naruto hung his head in defeat.

"Sakura, you look tired, why don't you head back to the cave and rest, I'm gonna keep helping Naruto for a bit." Mitsuru said.

"Umm, OK..." Sakura said. She thought it was a bit weird that he suddenly wanted her to go, and she felt a bit suspicious. However, she _was_ a bit tired, and bored, so she did as she was asked.

"So should I try again?" Naruto asked. He was a bit disappointed that Sakura was gone. He wanted her to be there when he finally succeeded.

"Not yet." Mitsuru said. He was silent for a moment, not sure if he wanted to do what he had in mind, "Naruto... do you want to try accessing the demon chakra again?"  
"Why?" Naruto asked.  
"I think that if you can use it, it will make summoning a lot easier." Mitsuru explained, _"That or you'll disembowel me." _But he kept those thoughts to himself.

"Really!?" Naruto looked excited.

"It's worth a shot."  
"Alright!" Mitsuru almost flinched when Naruto immediately made the hand seal for releasing his chakra. The last time this had happened, Naruto had indeed accessed the demon chakra, but it had been too much for him and he had lost control.

After a minute rolled by, Naruto's chakra began to run low. To Mitsuru it felt like standing in front of a bomb, watching the fuse slowly burn away, praying that the bomb was a dud. Sadly, this bomb was not a dud. Seconds later there was a shock wave, followed by the distinct red-orange chakra of the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

"N-Naruto?" Mitsuru asked nervously. His response was a glare from red, slitted eyes. And then he attacked, "Shit!" Mitsuru dodged to the side as Naruto slashed at him with now clawed hands. He turned to face the boy again, but this proved to be a mistake as it made him an easy target for Naruto's next slash which tore straight through Mitsuru's jounin vest... all the way down to his skin. A third slash followed quickly slicing into the man's arm. Mitsuru jumped back, drawing on chakra in hopes of stopping him like last time. Naruto let loose an inhuman roar of animalistic fury and lunged forth. Mitsuru ducked a blow aimed at his head, and nimbly leapt back to avoid a knee to his stomach. For such a young boy, he was dangerous in this state. And then suddenly he stopped,

"S-sensei?" Naruto said.

"Naruto?" Mitsuru asked, could the boy have regained control? He took a tentative step forward. Naruto suddenly grinned and slammed Mitsuru in the chin with an uppercut. It had been a trick.

"Dammit, the fox is smart..." Mitsuru muttered as he stumbled back. The out of control Naruto got down on to all fours, and stared at Mitsuru, malice in his demonic eyes. He rushed forward, but Mitsuru was ready this time. When Naruto lunged with claws ready to slice into flesh, Mitsuru punched him hard in the stomach, right where his seal should be, and released a burst of chakra. It was enough to knock him out and disturb the flow of demonic chakra enough to force it back.

"Dammit, why does this happen?" Mitsuru muttered as he help the unconscious boy. He definitely would not be trying this experiment again, not for a long time anyway. Then again, if Naruto were to lose control later on like this, he would be even more deadly.

Mitsuru carried Naruto back to the cave. He groaned as he realized he would have to explain to Sakura what had happened. He prayed to Kami that the girl wouldn't freak out. As he entered the cave, Sakura walked over... and saw the sliced up Mitsuru and the unconscious Naruto. She gasped,

"Wh-what happened?"

"I don't suppose I could tell you it was a training accident and leave it at that?" Mitsuru asked hopefully.

"No! Tell me!" Sakura demanded, worried about her friend.

_"Damn..." _Mitsuru sighed, "Naruto tried to access the demon chakra and lost control..." Sakura's eyes widened,  
"Wh-what?!" She felt panic creeping into her. It wasn't safe. Naruto could lose control and he could hurt people when it happened. Mitsuru must have seen the look on her face because he gently put Naruto down and walked over to her. He got down on one knee and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Please Sakura, promise me that you'll still be his friend. If you abandon him... I don't want to think of how it will affect him. He's not dangerous, it only happens when he purposely tries to access the chakra, and I'll make sure he doesn't try, OK?" Mitsuru pleaded. Sakura didn't know what to say. She was actually somewhat disturbed by her own thoughts. Part of her wanted to run away, run back to Konoha and hide from Naruto,

"B-but I don't want to get hurt..." She whimpered. Mitsuru sighed, he was afraid this would happen,  
"He won't hurt you, and if something happens I'll protect you. Just remember, Naruto is _not _the demon. Even if you did get hurt, it wouldn't be his fault. And I'm going to make sure you don't get hurt, so don't worry about that." Mitsuru explained, looking into the girls emerald eyes. Eyes filled with fear... and yet sadness. Sakura looked at the unconscious boy. All she could see was her friend. There was no sign of the demon, unless one counted the whisker marks on his cheeks. And yet a demon had to be there. As close as she was to Mitsuru, it was easy to smell the fresh blood still seeping out of his wounds. It made her feel a bit sick to her stomach.

"Sakura?" Mitsuru's voice snapped Sakura out of her thoughts. The girl struggled to find the words to say what she wanted to, but in the end all she could say was,

"I... I'll be his friend..." She whispered. No matter how scared she was, she couldn't bring herself to not be his friend. Besides, if she stopped being his friend, then she would have no friends herself. At least not until she got back to Konoha and was reunited with Ino. She hoped the blonde girl hadn't forgotten her.

"Thank you Sakura." Mitsuru smiled in relief. Sakura just shifted uneasily, glancing at Naruto. Mitsuru knew she was scared, he was afraid that Naruto would notice and think that she hated him. Somehow he had to make it so Naruto could control the demon chakra. He knew just trying over and over would be too risky, one lucky shot and Naruto could rip his throat out with the claws the chakra made him grow.

Later on, Mitsuru had his shirt off and he was wrapping bandages around his injured arm. Unfortunately, Naruto woke up at that moment.  
"Sensei?" The boy mumbled tiredly.

_"Son of a whore..." _Mitsuru thought. How was he gonna explain away the claw marks?  
"What happened to you?" The boy asked.

"Errr, well, you passed out again so I did some training with Sakura, it got a bit out of hand..." Mitsuru said, hoping to convince Naruto. Hopefully the boys denseness would work in his favor for once. Naruto stared at him for a few moments and then looked away,

"Stop lying..." He said quietly.

"Wh-what? I'm not lying-"  
"I woke up a a while ago, I saw you bandaging up _claw _marks, Sakura doesn't have claws..." Naruto said.

"Errr, well..." Mitsuru had nothing.  
"W-was it me?" Naruto asked, sounding a bit scared.

"Well, yes and no..." Naruto just looked confused, "the Kyuubi chakra made you lose control..."  
"Again?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"That last time I 'passed out' you looked tired when I woke up." Naruto said.

"Oh... well... yeah, it's happened twice now." Mitsuru sighed.

"D-does Sakura know?" Naruto asked, his voice trembling slightly. Mitsuru nodded,

"But don't worry, she understands, it's fine." Mitsuru tried to smile reassuringly. Naruto just stared at the cave wall, finding it to be very interesting all of a sudden. So very gray and... rocky.

Naruto got up a short time later and left the cave to fins Sakura. He found that it was starting to get dark, the sky was starting to turn a reddish orange. He saw Sakura sitting on the ground looking at some white flowers growing around a rock.

"Umm, Sakura?" Naruto walked over to her.

"Huh? Oh... hi Naruto." Sakura did her best to smile, "don't you think the flowers are pretty?"  
"I guess..." Naruto mumbled. He wasn't really that interested in flowers.

"What do you mean, 'I guess' they're pretty!" Sakura scowled.  
"Y-yes Sakura..." Naruto shrunk back slightly. Sakura looked up at the darkening sky,

"Hey Naruto, wanna see if we can see a shooting start tonight?" She asked.

"OK." Naruto nodded. He was slightly surprised when Sakura grabbed his hand and began leading him up to the cliff where they had waited to see a shooting star once before.

As the sky darkened and the stars started to become visible in the sky, Naruto spoke up,

"Hey... Sakura?"  
"Hm?" The pink haired girl turned to look at the boy sitting next to her.

"You know what happened to Mitsuru right?"

"Y-yeah... don't worry about it." Sakura gave a weak smile.  
"But-"

"I said don't worry about it, we're still friends and sensei isn't mad so every thing's fine!" Sakura said a bit too forcefully, trying to control her emotions.  
"Yeah, but shouldn't we talk about-"  
"No!" Sakura snapped, "I don't want to talk about it!" She stood up, "I don't even want to think about it! It scares me, and I can't be your friend if I only think about that _thing_ when I look at you!" She stood there breathing heavily, having released the pent up emotions she had concerning the demon. She then turned and walked away, leaving Naruto alone. She didn't even realize how Naruto might intemperate her words.

"She... hates me..." Naruto whispered to himself, and began to cry. So caught up in his emotions, he didn't notice as a star shot across the sky through the darkness...

* * *

**Ah, I hate to end on such a sad note, but I thought it would be... dramatic is the word I am looking for perhaps? I hope I did a good job with the Uchiha thing. I tried to cover a number of things in this chapter, hopefully it wasn't too jumbled up.**

**And I think I said it before, but in case anyone forgot, dango = dumplings.**

**Sorry if this chapter is shorter than the last two, but I didn't want to ruin the cliff top moment by continuing it further. That and I have been lazy and I don't wanna keep you waiting... but mostly because I don't want to ruin the moment.**

**NOW REVIEW YOU LAZY *insert string of swears here*!!!!!1!!1one!!1one!!**

**. . . yeah I had sugar. . . -sweatdrop-**


	8. Unexpected Meetings

**Much better, about 10 reviews in one chapter! I should write while high on sugar more often! A lot of you seem to be upset about what happened with Naruto and Sakura at the end of the last chapter. Well... I'm gonna let you people suffer and not tell you anything! MUAHAHAHAHA! Chapter 8, enjoy.**

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* * *

  
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**Unexpected Meetings**

Sakura hadn't been able to sleep well. It had taken her hours to finally fall asleep, and she had woken up a few times in the middle of the night. When morning finally came and she got up for the last time until night came once more, she saw that Naruto was not there. She felt disappointed, she had been hoping that she could just give the boy a smile and they could forget about what had happened on the cliff top.  
"Baka Sakura, a smile isn't going to fix _that._" She scolded herself. She hadn't meant to hurt his feelings, but she knew that he must have taken her words the wrong way. Of course, when she thought about her, she had chosen her words very badly.

"GRRR!" Naruto punched a tree... hard. His hand hurt but he was too frustrated to be bothered by it.  
"Naruto calm down!" Mitsuru said, "what's your problem?"  
"Nothing!" Naruto snapped.  
"Right then... well, keep trying..." Mitsuru knew the boy was lying, but he wasn't going to pry... yet. Currently Naruto was trying to master his summoning jutsu, and it wasn't going well."KYUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!" Naruto shouted and tries once more. His reward was a fairly large caterpillar... compared to most caterpillars. It was about five inches long, but still useless in battle. Normally Naruto would have been pleased, but he wanted something bigger, much bigger. He allowed the many legged creature to dispel itself and prepared to try again. He almost wanted to quit, but that wasn't his nature. He felt angry, frustrated, and sad all at once. He felt emotions building up in his chest, and he had the nearly irresistible urge to break _something. _He let a growl escape his lips as he gathered chakra for another attempt."KYUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!"

Sakura exited the cave to look for Naruto, and saw that he was training with Mitsuru. She heard him shout out a jutsu and slam his palm on the ground. There was a loud _BANG _followed by a large burst of smoke. She let out a squeak of surprise and protected her face with her arms on instinct. When she peeked out, she saw something big. Something _very _big. It had a lot of legs, too many for her liking, greenish skin and numerous long bright yellow hairs, hairs that were at least three inches thick, and a foot and half long each. It also had lines of red dots running down its sides. Her jaw dropped when she realized that Naruto had just summoned a _20 foot _long caterpillar.

Mitsuru had a similar reaction to Sakura at Naruto's summon. He also felt proud of the boy. The huge bug turned its large head to look at the tiny human that had summoned it. Its large black eyes locked onto Naruto's smaller bright blue ones.  
"What is your name young summoner?" The creature asked, "who is it that has summoned my beauty?"  
"U-Uzumaki Naruto..." Naruto stuttered, still slightly startled by the massive creature.  
"I see, Naruto, and why have you called upon me?" It tilted its head slightly.  
"Training?" The blond boy said nervously.  
"I... see..." The caterpillar seemed to consider this, "I assume then, that I am your first proper summon?" Naruto nodded, "In that case, I will tell you my name, and you will remember it. You shall call upon me whenever you require knowledge of our kind, do you understand?"  
"O-OK." Naruto confirmed.

"Good..." The creature dipped its head slightly, its version of a nod, "you must be a ninja, otherwise you would not know how to summon me, correct." Naruto nodded again, "then you must intend to use our kind in battle?" Another nod from Naruto, "in that case you have much to learn about us if you wish to use us properly. You must be able to summon which of us you will need to fight your opponent. This is what make our kind so wonderful, we have many species amongst us, each with its own capabilities, and each with its own beauty."  
"Cool! What can you do?" Naruto was excited now.  
"I? Why I am of our most beautiful and wise species, I am of the ruling species, a child of the great King and Queen. Our greatest strength our our ability to grow to great sizes, and we posses the most knowledge of any of the species."  
"What can other, umm, spe...cies... do?" Naruto struggled slightly with the new word.  
"Some are poisonous, some can create great webs that only the sharpest instruments can cut. Some, like the great horn worm, have the ability to fight with their physical might. Some posses a chrysalis harder than diamonds, our abilities are as diverse as our species." It explained in its calm, near monotone voice.  
"Wow..." Naruto said.  
_"Damn, I had no idea these things would be that tough..." _Mitsuru thought, _"too bad they're more prideful than the damn cats."_

"Now, I shall tell you my name, it is Chishiki no Shojisha, you may call me Chishiki." The giant caterpillar said, "if you ever need me, use my name when you use the summoning jutsu."  
"OK." Naruto replied.  
"Hey Naruto, why don't you work with the big guy, I'm gonna go talk to Sakura." Mitsuru said. Naruto immediately stiffened at the mention of Sakura, remembering the events of last night. _"Hmm, whatever's bothering him must have to do with Sakura." _Mitsuru noticed his reaction.

Sakura saw Mitsuru walking towards her.  
"Sensei?" She said.  
"Sakura," Mitsuru replied, "I take it you saw what Naruto did?" Sakura nodded, "good, but that's not what I want to talk to you about."  
"Wh-what then?" Sakura suddenly had a bad feeling.  
"Any idea why Naruto's so upset?"  
"Umm," now the girl felt sick, "I-I said something mean..."  
Mitsuru twitched slightly, "how mean?"  
"I didn't mean to be mean, h-he just didn't understand!" Sakura defended herself, feeling slightly panicked.  
"Explain." Mitsuru ordered, "tell me what you said."  
Sakura gulped nervously, "I-I said... that I couldn't be friends with him if all I could think about when I looked at him was the demon..." She explained guiltily.  
"What?!" Mitsuru was shocked, how could she have said something like that? He ran a hand through his hair, trying to keep relatively calm. He was failing at the moment.  
"I didn't mean it like that!" Sakura almost sobbed. The feeling of guilt was overwhelming.  
"Just... just tell me what happened." Mitsuru said. He told himself that Sakura wasn't like that, that there must be some explanation. Fortunately, there was. Sakura told Mitsuru what happened on the cliff, sniffling every few words.

"I... I didn't want to talk about the demon, I just wanted to be able to ignore it, th-that's what I meant..." Sakura finished.  
"Oh," Mitsuru sighed, "well, I suppose I can understand." _"It makes sense I guess, she's still a little girl, the Kyuubi must terrify her, especially since she knows that it can control Naruto when it gets the chance." _Mitsuru unconsciously moved his hand over the spot where Naruto, under the Kyuubi's control, had slashed him.  
"W-will Naruto forgive me?" Sakura asked nervously.  
"He should, I help you talk to him. He's a kind person at heart I think, if anyone will forgive you, he will." Mitsuru gave her a reassuring smile. Sakura smiled slightly as well, feeling relieved.

"Now, being able to summon us means you can also summon moths, while their species are generally less beautiful, we respect the beauty of their skills. Moths posses the skills of stealth, very useful to a ninja like yourself." Chishiki explained.  
"Cool!" Naruto exclaimed. He spent an hour more talking to Chishiki, learning of the butterfly and moth summons. He didn't learn that much of course, as he had to ask for Chishiki to explain new words and ideas... a lot.  
"I believe now is a good time to end this, Uzumaki Naruto, take some time to think on what you have learned. You have an interesting future ahead of you I think, and I would hate to see it ruined through ignorance." Chishiki said.  
"Umm, OK." Naruto nodded, though he wasn't quite sure what the summon was talking about.  
"Then I will depart, farewell Naruto." The large creature dipped its head in farewell, and disappeared in a large cloud of smoke. Naruto was sad to see his new friend go, but he was also excited. He could summon kitties. Though, it seemed no one had noticed just how he had summoned this particular kitty...

_Chapter 12:  
One of the rules of the shinobi is to show no emotion. In my experience, and I have a lot of experience, only the ANBU seem to do that. In all of the teams I've been on, all of the members of those teams showed emotion. Anger, fear, sorrow, happiness, and more. I never knew what the purpose of such a rule was. Until I lost my team. I wrote about that at the beginning of this book. It was my first experience with such a thing, to watch two people, comrades, friends, die in front of me. And to have the last die in my arms. I acted normal at first. But every smile was faked, every laugh forced. I was living a lie, the lie being that nothing was different. I let those three touch me, and now they were gone, dead. There was a hole in me, and it ate at me and grew, day by day, pulling me into despair. So I gave up. I threw away my emotions, my humanity. I was as a statue, the only signs of life were the breaths I took, the beating of my heart, and the movement of my body. Without emotions, there was no pain. I understood then. This was how you dealt with it.  
How foolish._

_That is not how you deal with it. You must fill in the hole, not ignore it. Even if you don't acknowledge it, it eats at your subconscious. So you must acknowledge it, come to know it, and then _deal with it. _Without noticing I was pushing away those who wished to support me, and so I fell.__She was weak, useless. She failed the chuunin exams... four times. And then she gave up. She was a nuisance. Even worse now, as she pried at me. She knew I was not right. Eventually I had enough. What did she know of this pain? She who had cast aside the life of a shinobi. She stunned me with her words. She told me __that what was the point of continuing if she was weak? She would bring her team nothing but pain. The pain of her death when she was overwhelmed, or the pain of another's death when she was too weak to help them. I was surprised, she was not the fool I thought she was. I thought that maybe, just maybe, she _could_ understand, if only just a little. So I let her in. She could not make the pain go away, but then again no one could. But she helped me to live with it, she gave me support so I would not fall any deeper. Alone, one cannot last forever. Even if one is immortal, if they remain alone, they will forever be alone. Eventually, you need to let someone in._

Naruto had skipped a few chapters to reach that point in the book. And at the moment he wasn't sure if he should have. The chapter bothered him, made him feel strange. He felt a myriad of emotions pulling at him. He tried to ignore it and shut the book, putting it back in his bag where it would be safe.

"Umm, N-Naruto, are you done reading?" He jumped slightly at Sakura's voice. He looked in her direction, though not directly at her and nodded, "then can we talk?"  
"Why? I thought you didn't want to look at me." Naruto said sorrowfully.  
"That's not what she meant Naruto, hear her out." Mitsuru said as he walked over. Naruto now felt embarrassed, Mitsuru knew what happened. The last thing he needed was to feel humiliated on top of everything else. Naruto just looked at the ground and waited for Sakura to speak. But she didn't, instead she walked over to Mitsuru. A moment later the man shrugged and walked away.

Sakura felt nervous, she had an idea, but she wasn't sure what Naruto would do. She walked over to him, sat down in front of him, and what happened next shocked the boy. Sakura took one of his hands in her own.  
"S-Sakura?" His face turned red as he glanced at her. Sakura's own face had a tinge of pink from her nerves.  
"I-I didn't mean what I said... o-or at least I didn't mean it the way you took it." She said quickly. At this point she couldn't take it any more and dropped his hand, it was making her too nervous, "I just mean I didn't want to think about the demon."  
"Oh... then why didn't you say that?" Naruto asked with a confused look on his face. It seemed like a simple enough thing to him.  
"I thought I did." Sakura frowned and looked away. Naruto thought for a few moments,  
"Well, I guess you did... but then you said the mean thing and left." He said. Sakura blushed slightly in embarrassment,  
"Y-yeah... w-well you were the one who was too stupid to just drop the subject!" She snapped back.  
"I thought it was important!" Naruto argued.  
"And I said I didn't care and everything was fine!"  
"FINE!"  
"FINE!" They both crossed their arms and looked away from eachother, "well since you understand what I meant, I'm leaving!" Sakura said with a 'hmph' and stomped out of the cave. Naruto glanced in her direction but made no move to stop her.

"Did it not go well?" Mitsuru asked as he saw Sakura stomp out of the cave, "did he understand?"  
"Yes."  
"Then why-"  
"HMPH!" Sakura crossed her arms and looked to the side.  
"Uhhh-"  
"Finish teaching me that earth jutsu." Sakura ordered, hoping to take her mind off things, ". . . please." She added more respectfully. It would take something _really _bad to make Sakura disrespectful.  
"O...K..." Mitsuru wasn't sure what had happened, but if Naruto really did understand what had happened, things would be back to normal soon. . . he hoped.

"Alright you two, pack up, we're leaving the woods for a while. You're starting to smell bad." Mitsuru smirked playfully.  
"No I'm not!" Sakura argued with a pout.  
"True, Naruto's a lot worse."  
"WHAT?!" Naruto shouted, glaring daggers.  
"Clam down, calm down, now go pack." Mitsuru gestured for them to hurry up. The two went into the cave, and packed in silence. They acted normal enough around Mitsuru, but when they were alone together, they stayed quiet. In fact, even with Mitsuru around they rarely talked to each other. It seemed their last argument had caused a rift to form between them. Sometimes Naruto thought about what he had read, and it would make him consider talking to her. So far he hadn't been able to bring himself to do it, after all, he figured that this was a completely different situation than what was in the book. No one had died, and he wasn't shutting everyone out, right? As they walked back out of the cave, they glanced at each other, but then quickly looked away, Sakura adding a 'hmph' as she did so. Mitsuru saw this and sighed,  
_"This is getting painful to watch..." _He thought wearily.  
"Well, let's go." He said. The children followed him in silence. It was an awkward and unusual silence. Kids shouldn't be this quiet. _Naruto_ shouldn't be this quiet.

They eventually arrived at an average sized town at the edge of Rock country a few days later. It was still close enough to Fire country so it wasn't in the badlands that lay deeper in the country. Thank Kami.  
"We should get you guy some new clothes, some of them got ruined and Sakura's dress ended up growing mold from staying damp too long." Mitsuru said. Sakura immediately glared at Naruto who quickly hid behind Mitsuru.  
"I wonder how that could have happened..." Sakura grumbled angrily.  
_"Oops..." _Mitsuru figured he _probably _shouldn't have mentioned the dress. Sakura had practically been in love with the thing, white with a red and blue floral design. Personally, Mitsuru hadn't liked it very much, but then again he was both a guy and a ninja so that probably had something to do with it.

The wall of the building next to them then exploded. Or, almost. It certainly had a good sized hole in it now.  
"AAAAH! Tsunade-sama be more careful... please..." A panicked female voice shouted.  
"Stupid machine..." A slightly deeper, but definitely female, and angry, voice said.  
"We can't pay for it since you blew all our money gambling, what do we do!?" The first voice asked, still in a panic.  
"Shit..." The second voice replied.  
"Tsu... nade... no way." Mitsuru twitched. He looked through the hole and saw a woman with black hair staring back at him, "err, hi."  
"H-hi... who are you?" The woman replied nervously.  
"Mitsuru... umm, when you said Tsunade did you mean the Sannin by any chance?" Mitsuru asked.  
"Y-you aren't trying to collect a debt are you?" The woman sounded almost sick at this point.  
"Well... no... why would you ask."  
"Who the hell're you talking to?" The second voice said and pushed the woman aside so she could look through the hole.  
"Well what do ya know... it _is _you." Mitsuru sighed and shook his head, "certainly living up to your nickname I see."  
"Shove it... hey wait I know you. Mitiru was it?" The new woman, who must be Tsunade, was blond and since she had bent over slightly to look through the hole, Mitsuru had a good view of her substantial cleavage. It took him a second to pry his eyes away and answer,  
"Mitsuru... and yeah you do know me. Kinda." Mitsuru replied. It was at that point the cogs of deviousness began to turn in his mind, "so, looks like you're in a bit of a jam. How about I pay for the damage for you."  
"What do you want." Tsunade frowned skeptically. Mitsuru grinned slightly,  
"Just to help one of the great Sannin, that's all."  
"Liar."  
"Yep."  
Tsunade sighed, "dammit, fine."

The dark haired woman turned out to be Tsunade's assistant, Shizune. Currently, she was tasked with watching Naruto and Sakura while Mitsuru talked to Tsunade in a bar.  
"So, what the hell happened to you?" Tsunade asked, "you're paler than a ghost and you look blind."  
"Well first off I'm not that pale and I can see fine, thank you very much," Mitsuru scowled slightly, "as to what happened, well, it's what happens to every over eager fool in my clan."  
"Which is?"  
"My chakra network is half dead and my body is suffering as a result." Mitsuru replied with a shrug.  
"What?! I've never heard of that happening, and I know a lot about these kinds of things." Tsunade was rather surprised to say the least.  
"It's a clan thing, and we don't go around advertising our abilities and their side effects." Mitsuru muttered, "only the Hokages, friends of our clan and a few others know about us. Everyone else thinks we're just damn good with jutsu."  
"Are you going to tell me?" Tsunade being a medic-nin, and the best one for that matter, was intrigued.  
"Basically, our clan has a supercharged chakra network and a near perfect memory. So we can acquire and use new jutsu easily. However, if we strain our chakra network too much and too frequently, it burns out."  
"And you over did it?" Tsunade figured.  
"Oh I don't know, what do you think?" Mitsuru said sarcastically.  
"I'll take that as a yes." The large breasted woman said and took a sip of sake... from her second bottle. They'd only been there five or so minutes.

"So, who are those two kids, certainly ain't your children." Tsunade asked.  
"Haruno Sakura," Mitsuru grinned in anticipation of her reaction, "and Namikaze Naruto." Tsunade froze like a statue and dropped her sake bottle,  
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO!?" The big breasted woman roared, nearly smashing the table with her fist. The other occupants of the bar looked over at them, but a quick glare from the Sannin quickly made them return to what they were doing.  
Mitsuru fought his urge to faint on the spot and took a deep breath,  
"I protected him." He said as calmly as he could, "but I ended up having to take the girl with me as well." Tsunade glared suspiciously but didn't kill him... yet.  
_"This is getting dangerous..." _Mitsuru thought, "so far things are going well enough, except the Kyuubi has been giving me some trouble."  
"What?!" Tsunade's eyes widened.  
"Yeah, the Yondaime sealed it into him, remember?" Mitsuru explained.  
". . .right, makes sense he'd use his own son I guess. I wasn't there at the time, but I heard he'd sealed it away." Tsunade muttered and waved for a new bottle of sake... or five. She was going to need it after hearing all of this, "any other... issues?"  
"Not really, the kids a genius in a way, he can do almost anything, but he's as dense as a lead block." Mitsuru sighed.  
"Really?"  
"He summoned a 20 foot caterpillar."  
Tsunades jaw nearly hit the table, "dear Kami! How the hell could he have enough chakra?"  
"Has to have something to do with the Kyuubi, it's presence probably toughened up his chakra network. I bet he could withstand the effects of my bloodline like it was a passing breeze. The rest of his body's probably a bit tougher than normal as well."  
"I... see... but wait, a caterpillar?"  
"Yep, he just loves his little 'kitties'." Mitsuru sighed, "that's what he calls them."  
"I've never heard of that kind of summon though." Tsunade looked puzzled.  
"Hey, you summon slugs, why not butterflies and caterpillars?"  
"I guess, but how did you get the contract scroll?"  
"I summon cats, I had my pal Tsume find it for me. Not sure how he did it but he did." Mitsuru explained.  
"Hm..." Tsunade looked thoughtful.

"So... umm, why aren't you two getting along?" Shizune asked Sakura. She had noticed the two were avoiding each other, and sometimes Sakura glared at Naruto. She had tried talking to Naruto, and he had said to ask Sakura. So she was.  
"Because _Naruto's stupid!_"Sakura raised her voice to make sure Naruto heard her. Said blond stuck his tongue out in return and Sakura glared back intensely.  
"Umm, wh-what did he do?" _"This girl scares me... she reminds me of Tsunade when she's angry... oh please Kami, not another one!" _Shizune thought. Fortunately Sakura and Tsunade were not _that_ much alike. Sakura didn't have drinking or gambling problems. But the temper was there, not quite as bad yet, but it was only a matter of time...  
"I can't tell you." Sakura replied.  
"Why?" Shizune asked.  
"Secret."  
"I won't tell anyone." Shizune forced a smile.  
"Doesn't matter, you're not allowed to know." Sakura frowned to put emphasis on her words.  
"O-OK..." Shizune said. When Tsunade got like this, she usually left her alone, lest she face her wrath. This wasn't Tsunade, but why take chances? Shizune sighed, _"What's wrong with you? She's a ten year old girl!" _She thought and look at Sakura. The look on the little girl's face was currently not a pleasant one, _"B-but why take chances..."  
_  
They had spent two days with the Sannin and her assistant, and currently Naruto was sitting on a wooden bench outside the inn they were staying at. Laying down next to the bench was a little pig who turned out to be Tsunade's pet, Tonton. Naruto picked up a nearby stick and looked at it, and then at Tonton,  
"Hmm..." Naruto thought for a second, "hey, fetch." He tossed the stick. He could have sworn the pig glared at him.

Mitsuru and Tsunade had talked many times over the two days. Mostly about Naruto, but sometimes just as fellow ninja. Tsunade found it somewhat refreshing to talk to someone other than Shizune, debt collectors, or other gamblers. Even better, he hadn't mentioned her leaving Konoha once.  
"So, they really aren't getting along well eh?" Tsunade asked.  
"Nope, it's kinda depressing." Mitsuru replied.  
"Well what are you gonna do?" Tsunade asked.  
"I've tried a few things, none of them have worked." Mitsuru muttered.  
"I could do it easy." Tsunade smirked.  
"Sure you could." Mitsuru scoffed.  
"Wanna make it a bet?" Tsunade glared. Mitsuru raised an eyebrow,  
"Sure, I bet you'll fail miserably." He said.  
"We'll see about that!" Tsunade squinted challengingly, and then quickly turned in the direction of the inn.  
"This ought to be good." Mitsuru rolled his eyes and turned to follow.

They found the two ten year olds on opposite sides of a small grass field behind the inn. Sakura was looking at the flowers of an even smaller garden, while Naruto systematically mauled the grass in front of him out of boredom. The inn keeper would probably not be happy if she saw.  
"So, are you _really _the Yondaime's kid?" Tsunade asked, doing her best impression of herself when drunk. She must have had a lot of practice as she did a very good job.  
Naruto stiffened, but nodded, "yeah..."  
"Hmph, you kinda look like him, but other than that you just look pathetic." Tsunade shrugged.  
"Wh-what?" Naruto looked at her, somewhat shocked.  
"Scrawny too." The big breasted woman added.  
"I-I am not!" Naruto argued.  
"I mean, _you _want to be a ninja, I can tell just by looking at you that you'd die on your first mission!" Tsunade said more loudly. Sakura glanced over at this point.  
"I would not!" Naruto stomped somewhat angrily, "wh-what do you know!" He tried to sound tough, but Tsunade was a tad intimidating.  
"I know a lot kid, I'm a legendary Sannin, a position you'll never be able to match!" She gave him a hard poke in the shoulder which hurt a bit.  
"What did I do?" Naruto rubbed his shoulder, wondering what he had done to make the woman so mad. At this point, Sakura was watching the exchange.  
"Well you certainly haven't done anything to make me think you have any chance at being a successful ninja." Tsunade gave him a look of contempt.  
"Sh-shut up!" Naruto had to hold back a sob of frustration, why were people being mean to him again? He thought leaving Konoha had gotten him away from all of this.  
"What did you say!?" Tsunade yelled, "a piece of scum like you shouldn't talk to someone like _me _that way!" Naruto shrank back in fear.

"HEY! Stop being mean to Naruto!" Sakura ran over and stepped in between the two. She couldn't take it anymore. No one had the right to yell at Naruto like that. No one except for _her. _Especially since she was pretty sure Naruto hadn't done anything wrong.  
"And why should I?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow and leaned over to look Sakura in the face.  
"B-because it's _my _job to yell at him." Sakura crossed her arms and tried to look serious. Tsunade stared at the girl for a few moments... and then burst out laughing.  
"Oh Kami you're a funny one!" She shouted amusedly and then grinned, "don't worry kid, I didn't mean any of that!" She said to Naruto.  
"Th-then why did you do it?" Naruto asked, confused.  
"Because we were sick of you and Sakura not getting along so I guess she figured if she insulted you enough it would make Sakura mad. Now start being friends again already or I'll have Tsume yell at you, and he's _really _mean when he wants to be." Mitsuru said. Both children blushed in embarrassment.  
"O-OK..." Sakura mumbled.  
"Y-yeah..." Naruto said, "umm, thanks Sakura." He added and looked at her.  
"N-no problem." She looked at the ground. After a moment she looked back up and smiled at him. A smile that always made the world feel right again for Naruto. A smile that he was unable to not return.  
"Oh, and kid?" Tsunade got Naruto's attention.  
"What?" The boy asked.  
"You _are _a bit scrawny."

A day later they bid Tsunade and Shizune farewell and headed off to the next town. Before leaving they picked up a few supplies, including some candy and a new dress after Sakura begged for nearly a half an hour straight.  
"This next town takes us closer to Kumo, did you know that village is right next to one of the tallest mountains known to man?" Mitsuru said.  
"Cool!" Naruto grinned. And so they went down the road, and this time it was much more pleasant.

- - -

"Haha! See how good those two are getting along now?" Tsunade said as she grabbed a bottle of sake from a table in their inn room. Shizune sighed, Tsunade never stayed sober long enough.  
"Yes, so?" Her assistant asked.  
"And that Mitsuru guy bet I couldn't do it." Tsunade gave another victorious laugh and took another sip of sake.  
"You did that because of a bet?" Shizune groaned, it figured, Tsunade wasn't _that _nice... or very nice at all for that matter.  
"Yep!"  
"Wait, and you won?!" Shizune sounded too surprised for Tsunade's liking and the Sannin glared intensely, but then she went still and her eyes widened,  
"Oh shit!" She swore.  
"Wh-what is it?" Shizune asked, alarmed.  
"I never remembered to ask what I got if I won!" She grumbled, though there was something else about it that bothered her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it...

- - -

"What do I get what do I get!?" Naruto asked excitedly, his birthday was coming tommorow.  
"For the last time, I'm not telling you!" Mitsuru grumbled.  
"But-" Naruto was cut off by the angry reply that followed,  
"I SAID, FOR THE LAST TIME!" Mitsuru shouted, the boy had asked at least 100 times and it was wearing on his now very raw nerves.  
"Please listen this time, I'm getting annoyed too!" Sakura scowled, "I was patient when it was my birthday!" The now 11 year old girl scolded.  
"Listen to your sensei boy, ninja shouldn't beg and whine." A new voice said, "you're a hard man to find Mitsuru."  
"What now?" Mitsuru replied and turned to face the owner of the voice, and frowned when he saw who it was, "Uchiha."

* * *

**OOOH! Cliffhanger! Sorry this chapter took so long, but life reared it's very ugly head... twice. And as you may have noticed, there is a little time jump during the last paragraph. The jump covers about five months. Sakura is now 11, though if you were paying attention you should already know that. (Naruto's birthday won't be for quite a while, Sakura's birthday is in March, Naruto's is in Octoboer... opposite ends of the year.)**

**Translations: Kumo = Cloud.  
Kumo, or Kumogakure, is the Village Hidden in the Clouds. Land of the zappy lightning ninjas!  
Chishiki no Shojisha = Possesor of Knowledge**

**Next chapter contains the first big battle! SHOW ME YOUR EXCITED FACES!!! WOOOO!. . . and no, I did **_**not **_**have sugar. This is just plain old me!. . . except I'm not that old. . .**


	9. Uchiha Entanglements

**WARNING! EPIC MANGA/ANIME SPOILERS! HUGE spoilers. If you haven't gotten to the big Itachi vs. Sasuke fight in the manga (shippuden), you might want to read through that and the...interesting conversation following it before you read this.  
And thank those of you who reviewed, and shame on the lazy ones who decided not to! I mean seriously, you can review BEFORE the story ends ya know... -sigh- but I shouldn't be begging... ah what the hell, it's fun! XP  
Also, this chapter will look different as it is the first one to have been edited by someone. Hopefully for the better. (tell me if you prefer it this way or not if you want)  
Also#2(IMPORTANT!!!!): I edited the last chapter (#8) mostly minor cosmetic stuff, but I changed the ending so that this chapter will make more sense. Basically I made the time skip at the send of chapter 8 bigger. Originally Sakura had just turned 11 and Naruto still had a ways to go before turning 11. Now however, Sakura is still 11, but Naruto's birthday is only a day away.  
And since my friend asked, I added a translation for the caterpillar's name as well.  
So those of you who already read it don't have to go back and look (unless you want to), it is:  
Chishiki no Shojisha = Possesor of Knowledge.  
That should cover it I think. On to the damn story already!**

* * *

**Uchiha Entanglements**

"I think you know why I'm here," the Uchiha said. It was obvious by the symbol on his arm band that he was an Uchiha.

"Well, then you're going to be disappointed. Then again, you might be dead before you can feel much of anything…except of course for agonizing pain," Mitsuru replied casually.

"Threatening a Konoha shinobi? That's not a good idea," the Uchiha said mockingly.

"Don't call yourself that, it gives Konoha a bad name to have scum like you as ninja." Mitsuru glared. "And one other thing, that wasn't a threat."

"Oh?" The Uchiha raised an eyebrow.

"It was a promise." The Uchiha activated his Sharingan as Mitsuru lunged forward. He easily dodged all of Mitsuru's punches and kicks before elbowing him in the face.

"Pathetic," the Uchiha said, kicking Mitsuru off his feet.

"Sensei!" Sakura cried, worried.

"Stay back, I can take him," Mitsuru ordered as he got back to his feet.

"But-" Naruto was about to argue.

"STAY BACK!" Mitsuru yelled more fiercely. "You're no match for an Uchiha with three tomoe."

"Neither are you, so why don't you just give up. I'll even spare the girl if you let me kill you right now." The Uchiha smirked.

"And if I resist further?" Mitsuru asked.

"I make you watch the girl die before I slit your throat so you can watch me drag the boy away," the Uchiha explained, sadism clear in his voice.

"Wrong," Mitsuru said.

"What are you talking about?" The Uchiha frowned.

"If I resist, I kill you. Simple as that."

"Oh, shut up and die!" The Uchiha was about to move when Mitsuru shook his finger.

"Such good eyes and you didn't see what I put on the ground in front of you?" he said. The Uchiha's eyes widened and he looked at the ground, but saw nothing. That was a mistake,

"Raiton: Dageki!" The Uchiha looked up just in time to see lightning spark at Mitsuru's fingers and lance towards him. He tried to dodge, but it still grazed his side and, being electricity, that was enough.

"AAAGH!" the Uchiha cried out in pain as the electricity that coursed through him caused his muscles to give out. He fell.

"Idiot, you don't have Byakugan. No matter how keen your Sharingan are, you can't read my movements if you aren't looking at me," Mitsuru lectured. "A fatal mistake." He walked towards the fallen Uchiha.

"St-stay back!" The Uchiha threw a shuriken, but his hands were still numb from the lightning jutsu and his aim was poor. It missed Mitsuru by a clean two inches and fell to the ground not long after. Mitsuru made hand seals and fired off another bolt of lightning, this time from little more than a foot away. The electricity surged through the Uchiha's body...which then promptly burst into smoke and was replaced by a log.

"Ah crap..." Mitsuru swore.

A kunai shot out of the woods and Mitsuru jumped back to avoid it, a second one came form the same spot, and this time he caught it easily.

"What are you some rookie? Attacking form the same spot like tha-" Mitsuru then exploded.

"SENSEI!" Sakura screamed in horror. The Uchiha then jumped out of the trees.

"Ha, looks like he was the idiot instead, didn't even notice the exploding note wrapped around that second kunai," he taunted. "Too bad he's dead; I wanted to kill you in front of him!" He pulled out a kunai and stalked towards Sakura. Before he could reach her his eyes widened and he jumped back, a moment later a huge spike of rock shot out of the ground where he had just been standing. It would have impaled him had he not moved.

"STAY AWAY FROM THEM!" Mitsuru shot out of the woods like an arrow and sent a punch at the Uchiha that would have shattered his jaw had he not moved at the last second.

"Y-you're alive!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Of course I am," Mitsuru replied like they hadn't just had to watch his body get blown to pieces... even if it wasn't really him.

"Hmph, I guess you aren't completely stupid," the Uchiha snarled. However, Mitsuru was no longer in the mood for talk. He launched a new taijutsu offensive, only this time his attacks were more complicated than simple punches and kicks.

The Uchiha began to slowly be forced back by his attacks. He ducked under a punch, but before he could counter he would have to move back to avoid a knee to his chin. Or if he dodged a kick, he would have to avoid the man's elbow before it smashed his face in. And when the Uchiha tried to attack, he would have to end his assault before the man could grapple and throw him. It was as if his first attack at the begging of the fight had been purposely poor to fool him into being hit by the lightning jutsu.

_"Son of a bitch, did he really plan that out?" _the Uchiha thought as he dodged another attack. He was surprised to say the least. Even with his Sharingan, he was having trouble. The man moved fast, he could see the attacks coming, but only had time to dodge. However, finally he saw it. An opening. Mitsuru threw a punch, but overextended himself a bit. The Uchiha grabbed his wrist and kneed him in the stomach. This was followed by an uppercut to his chin and then a punch that sent Mitsuru to the ground.

"Bastard, I don't care how good you are! I'm an Uchiha!" he said and kicked Mitsuru in the ribs, sending the man sprawling. "You didn't land a single punch!"

"Shut...up..." Mitsuru coughed slightly, but then grabbed a fistful of dirt and hurled it at the Uchiha's eyes. However, the Uchiha simply raised his hand to cover his eyes.

"Did you really think that would work?" the Uchiha said before his eyes widened in surprise. Mitsuru had just finished a set of hand seals in the time it had taken for the Uchiha to raise and lower his hand.

"No, but I was hoping you'd be stupid enough to take your eyes off me again. Fuuton: Arashi Fungeki!" A massive gust of wind suddenly buffeted the area, and then began to swirl around the Uchiha,

"Sh-shit! What is this!?" The man shouted as he tried in vain to escape the winds. _"How can he make hand seals so fast!!?"_

"It's how you die!" Mitsuru said as he got back to his feet. "Now, Raiton: Arashi Fungeki!" Mitsuru said after making hand seals. Now, the winds swirled around the trapped Uchiha faster, followed by a loud _CRACK _a massive bolt of lightning surged downward from the sky. Naruto and Sakura were blinded by the amount of light it gave off, and when they could see again, all that was left of the Uchiha was a smoldering husk.

Mitsuru turned back to his two students, whose eyes were wide with shock.

_"Great, I just killed a man in front of two children...shit..." _Mitsuru thought with sigh.

"Wow," Naruto said after a few seconds, eyes still wide.

"That was...sc-scary..." Sakura whimpered.

"I know Sakura, but these are the kinds of things you're going to have to deal with as ninja." Both children nodded nervously, though Sakura was trembling. She looked up as Mitsuru put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort the girl. "Look, you can't let this get to you. You weren't the one who killed him, I was. And I did it to protect you. Both of you. It had to be done." It wasn't the most comforting thing he could have said, but Sakura nodded,

"O-OK..." She sniffled.

"How about you, Naruto? Are you OK?" Mitsuru asked. Naruto looked a bit spooked, but not as bad as Sakura.

Seeing Sakura so upset made Naruto want to hug her or something, but Mitsuru was in the way and it would be embarrassing. So instead he just nodded and tried to hide any signs that he was bothered by the Uchiha's demise when Mitsuru asked how he was,

"I'm fine, sensei!" He replied. If Sakura was scared, he'd just be strong for her.

"Well that's good." Mitsuru said. "Come on, I doubt he was alone. Let's move before his friends show up. I'm willing to bet they heard the commotion or saw the flash." And so the three ran.

- - -

Ino was panting as if she'd just run a marathon, because she just had. It was the second student of the year competition; once again it was her VS Sasuke. So far, she was losing. He had beaten her at hitting targets with kunai, and now he had just devastated her in running laps, again. All that was left was the jutsu test. Ino sighed, it didn't really matter, she'd already lost. Hopefully though, she could stave off total humiliation. She tried to hold her head high as she walked back into the academy building for the final test, but Sasuke satisfied smirk left her with a scowl on her face.

"Alright, first you'll be doing the henge jutsu." Iruka said. Both Sasuke and Ino nodded, and used the hand seal for henge. In two bursts of smoke the two academy students had become perfect copies of Iruka.

"This is too easy, Sasuke muttered. He made the hand seal again, and this time turned into Ino, "Oh! Sasuke is far too good! I'll never beat him!" Sasuke swooned in Ino's voice. He turned back into himself, still with that annoying satisfied smirk on his face. Ino glared and attempted to so the same, only she tried to turn into Hinata. It seemed to work, until she realized that she still had Iruka's hair...

"Well...errr…it seems Sasuke wins." Iruka had to force himself not to laugh. The rest of the class failed to do so. The failed double henge combined with the pissed and embarrassed look on Ino's face was too much, "although if you want, you can still see if you can out do Sasuke at the bunshin jutsu," he suggested.

"Of course I can do that!" Ino snapped, now back to normal. Iruka frowned at the lack of respect in her voice, but decided to let it slide this time. Frankly, with her temper, he was surprised she hadn't tried to take Sasuke out when he had transformed into her.

"D-do your best Ino!" Hinata managed to make herself speak up in an attempt to encourage her frustrated friend. Sadly, Ino's best wasn't enough today. Maybe it was better than most of the class could do, but Sasuke's best was better than that. Ino managed a rather impressive nine clones, but Sasuke had eleven.

"Better luck next time Ino!" Sasuke said with false friendly enthusiasm. "But it'll take more than just luck to beat me!"

"Shut it!" Ino snapped and glared at him intensely.

"Calm down Ino, and you be quiet Sasuke!" Iruka ordered. "The contest is over, Sasuke wins. Everyone can go home." The classroom quickly emptied as students rushed off to go home. Though Sasuke stuck around a little longer to get the piece of paper that would prove he had won. Ino considered stealing it and ripping it in half, but managed to stop herself. Though if the Uchiha said one more taunt, she'd change her mind in a heartbeat. And she'd floor him too.

"Umm…I-Ino?" Hinata said timidly as she approached the angry blonde.

"I'm going home," Ino announced and stomped off, leaving her friend behind. Normally the two hung out for a bit after class, but today she was in a bad mood, and she didn't want to accidentally take it out on Hinata. Ino fumed all the way home, or she would have had she not nearly crashed into someone.

"Watch it pal!" Ino snapped angrily at them.

"Ah! Such unyouthful emotions! But I sense much youthful energy within you!" The boy replied.

"Yeah well... what?" Ino blinked, who was this wackjob? He had black hair and wore a white long sleeved shirt held closed by a black cloth belt, with dark colored cloth pants. It was so plain it stood out. The only truly remarkable feature the boy had were his huge eyebrows.

"You should not waste your youthful energy on such anger!" The boy told her.

"Umm, I'm sorry but what the hell are you talking about?" Ino asked.

"Gah! Such unyouthful language!" The boy slammed his hands over his ears, but sadly he didn't cover his mouth, "we are in the springtime of youth! Rejoice, do not waste time in despair!"

"O-OK..." Ino replied nervously, "umm, wh-who are you?" _"Ugh, I'm not sure I want to know actually." _She thought.

"Rock Lee! Proud student of Gai-sensei!" The boy replied.

It was then that Ino noticed that he had a Konoha headband accompanying the cloth belt around his waist.

"Hey, you're a genin aren't you!?" Ino asked.

"Yosh!" Lee saluted, "I am a proud warrior of Konoha! My youthfulness knows no bounds, and I will use it all to serve this village! Even if I cannot use ninjutsu or genjutsu!"

"You can't use genjutsu or ninjutsu?" Ino raised an eyebrow.

"No, but I will prove that I can be just as good as any other ninja through hard work and taijutsu alone!" Lee replied firmly.

"I... see..."

Lee then gave her a curious look, "why were you so angry before? On such a youthful day one should be filled with nothing but joy!"

"Do you ever stop talking about youth?" Ino groaned.

"When I train! Then there is little time for talk!"

"R-right..."

"So?"

"Ugh, I lost a competition." Ino muttered.

"Then try harder so you will win next time!" Lee gave her a thumbs up and a smile that nearly blinded her.

"I've been trying! But he's an Uchiha! It's not fair!" Ino scowled and crossed her arms. In other words, she pouted.

"That is no excuse!" Lee reprimanded her loudly, "any obstacle can be overcome by hard work!"

"Says the guy who can't use ninjutsu." Ino glared.

"I-I will overcome that with taijutsu!" Lee shouted, though he was clearly embarrassed.

"Yeah yeah, good luck, I'm going home." Ino muttered and gave him a half-hearted wave of farewell.

"Wait!" Lee yelled.

"What!?" Ino replied exasperatedly.

"What kind of competition did you lose?" He asked.

"Kunai throwing, running, and basic jutsu, the jerk beat me at all three!" Ino frowned at the memory.

"Did you say running?" Lee asked.

"Yeah, so?"

"Well why didn't you say so! I am genius of hard work, with my help you shall outrun him easily should you face him again!" Lee gave her another blinding grin.

"Sorry, but no thanks." Ino muttered and began to turn away _"Like I want to hang out with that weirdo!"_

"Then do not come crying to me when you fail!" Lee gave a 'hmph' and muttered something about being unyouthful and began to walk away.

Ino sighed, "wait!" She reluctantly turned to face the boy again, "w-would you really help me?"

"Of course! Youth is accepting of all!" Lee grinned.

"R-right, youth..." Ino forced a shaky smile.

"If you wish to learn the ways of youth and hard work, meet me here tomorrow at 3 o' clock!" Lee told her.

"Right, three, I'll be out of class by then." Ino replied.

"In the morning." Lee clarified.

"WHAT!?" Ino shrieked, "IN THE MORNING?!"

"The early morning is a most youthful time! You get to rise with the sun!"

"The sun isn't even up _that _!" Ino groaned.

"I have to meet my team at five, so I will help you before then." Lee explained.

"Ugh, fiiiine." She groaned, "bye..." She added in a depressed mutter and turned to walk home.

- - -

"So, they still want to hurt me?" Naruto asked. They were currently hiding out in a small inn in an equally small village. It was a tiny place hidden away in the woods. Mostly, only random travelers and the odd ninja on a mission ever used the inn. Currently, Naruto and Sakura were sitting on a bed while Mitsuru paced back and forth.

"Yeah, I suppose now would be a good time to give you all the specifics." Mitsuru said.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"It means," Mitsuru sighed, "I'm going to tell you everything. Every last detail about why the Uchiha want Naruto."

"You mean it wasn't just because they hated me like everyone else in the village?" Naruto asked.

"No, it's much worse than that." Mitsuru said, "the Hokage had suspicions that they were up to no good, but we thought Itachi was different. He was ordered to spy on his own clan, and I was his contact.

"Itachi was smart, he would give little hints, but never enough for us to do anything. What I know though, is that they want the Kyuubi. Itachi never said that of course, but I'm certain that's what they want." Mitsuru said.

"Wh-why?" Naruto asked, eyes wide with surprise.

"The Uchiha are jealous, they lust for power. The Shodaime Hokage was of the Senju clan, a rival of the Uchiha clan. Back before the villages, those two clans were constantly fighting, when Konoha was founded, the Shodaime fought with a man named Uchiha Madara over who would be the first Hokage, and the Shodaime won. The Uchiha want to control Konoha, and they think if they can get control of the Kyuubi, they'll have to power to do it."

"But if Itachi didn't tell you, how do you know that?" Sakura asked.

"I did a little spying of my own, it wasn't easy of course, but I overheard a few things, did a little research, and figured it all out." Mitsuru said, "that and Itachi is arrogant, because I asked him what he thought of that idea, he said that the Kyuubi would be a great asset to the Uchiha and, 'let's just be glad that my clan has no means of taking it, it would be very bad if they did, don't you agree?' Obviously, he didn't know how much I knew." After hearing everything, Naruto looked distressed,

"Wh-what if they get me?" Naruto asked nervously.

"Don't worry about that, I won't let them." Mitsuru told him.

"But what if they do! What if you can't stop them!?" Naruto asked more loudly, fear in his eyes.

"I..." Mitsuru sighed, "it would be bad, I'm not going to lie to you. If they somehow did manage to take the Kyuubi and harness its power, lots of people would probably die." Naruto's eyes widened and he went quiet. It was the quiet that came over someone when they've made the kind of realization that changes their perspective of the events around them, when they've realized just how bad things can get.

"I'm not going to let them get you Naruto, I promise!" Mitsuru tried to make him feel better, if only a little.

"I won't let them get you either!" Sakura spoke up, looking and sounding determined. That _did _Naruto feel better.

"Th-thanks..." Naruto said.

"We're friends aren't we?" Sakura asked.

"Y-yeah!" Naruto replied, a hint of his normal enthusiasm returning to him.

"Alright guys look, you stay here and calm down, I'm gonna go get something, and then we're gonna do something to take our minds off of all this." Mitsuru said.

"OK." Sakura replied.

"Good, same rules as usual, except this time, you had better follow them, or else." Mitsuru said in a no-nonsense tone.

When Mitsuru came back, the two children were confused by what he had. Two pairs of clunky wooden sandals, and a rubber ball.

"Ummm... sensei... what are those for?" Sakura asked.

"Training!" Mitsuru replied, "you two need to learn how to move without making any noise. In other words, advanced stealth training."

"And the ball?" Naruto asked.

"Simple, you mess up, I hit you in the head with it." Mitsuru explained.

"B-but that's mean!" Sakura whined.

"Then you better not mess up."

"OW!" Naruto shouted, clutching the side of his head. The ball wasn't a little air filled ball, it was solid, bouncy, but solid, and Mitsuru wasn't pulling any punches. Mitsuru was sitting in the doorway to one of the rooms in the inn, no one else was there so they had the entire upper floor to themselves, and facing into it. Naruto and Sakura had to sneak from one end of the hall to the other without getting caught, and the wooden sandals they were wearing made it hard.

"You fail, Sakura's turn again." Mitsuru said.

"Umm, N-Naruto can have another turn, I don't mind!" Sakura said, trying to get out of it.

"Don't be a wuss, now go!" Mitsuru retrieved the ball and returned to facing into the room.

_. . . clack, WACK!_

"WAAH! Owww!" Sakura whined as the ball collided with her head.

"Naruto, you're up." Mitsuru sighed. Naruto groaned, it was going to be a _long _day. At least they weren't thinking about the Uchiha.

- - -

Ino walked over to her alarm clock and groaned as she set it to go off at three in the morning.

"This sucks." She muttered. She turned up the alarm volume slightly, she was going to need it high to get her up that early. She climbed into bed after shutting off the light. Five minutes later though she groaned again and got up. She went back to her alarm. She had to _meet _at three... so she set her alarm to go off even earlier.

"This...sucks..."

- - -

"OW!"

. . .

"OW!"

. . .

"OWWW!"

"You guys aren't doing very good..." Mitsuru said, "you haven't even made it to the middle of the hall yet."

"It's these sandals!" Naruto argued.

"Yeah, but you'd think after four hours you'd be getting a little better." Mitsuru muttered, "maybe you need extra incentive." Mitsuru pulled something out of his bag. He then carried it to the end of the hall and put it down, "if you make it, you get this candy."

"CANDY!" Sakura shouted excitedly, her stash had run out weeks ago.

"Candy's not that great..." Naruto muttered.

"Then just give it to me if you win!" Sakura said.

"If you make it Naruto, I'll buy you as much ramen as you want for the next few weeks." Mitsuru said, _"Ugh, I'm gonna regret that."_

"RAMEN!" Naruto shouted excitedly.

"Ramen isn't that great, calm down, jeez." Sakura muttered.

"You got excited about candy!"

"Because candy is good!"

"So is ramen!"

"OW!" Both children shouted in unison as the ball bounced off of Naruto's head and then into Sakura's.

"Stop arguing, now Naruto, go!" Mitsuru ordered. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Ugh... err, none?"

"Good boy, you'll be fine, now get up." Mitsuru said and hauled Naruto to his feet. During his most recent head on, literally, collision with the ball, he had fallen over, and there had been a rather loud thud when his head had collided with the hallway floor.

"Alright, that's enough for today, off to bed with you, both of you." Mitsuru gestured for them to head to their room, "and Sakura?"

"Yes sensei?" Sakura replied.

"Put the candy back."

"Y-yes sensei..."

- - -

_Beep-beep-beep!_

The sound was ignored by the person in the room.

_Beep-beep-beep!_

Again the sound was ignored. However, the thing that created this sound was made to get louder should it go unheard.

_BEEEP-BEEEP-BEEEEP!_

"GAAH!" Ino rolled over quickly in an attempt to shut off the instrument of her annoyance, but instead fell out of her bed with a loud thud, "waaaaah." She whined.

_BEEEP-BEEEP-BEEEP!_

It was 2:58 in the morning, and Ino was in a very bad mood. She had fallen out of bed, tripped down the stairs, and in the shower she had been so tired, she forgot to turn on the hot water... let's just say everyone within a quarter mile had gotten a rude awakening thanks to her screaming. Exactly two minutes later, _exactly, _Leeshowed up.

"Yosh! Greetings to you on this youthful d-" He was cut off by Ino angry retort,

"Save it, just get to the training, and it isn't morning yet in case you haven't noticed, there are still _stars _the sky!" She glared slightly.

"Yes, well... umm..." Lee wasn't sure how to respond.

"What? No, _the stars are youthful too_?" Ino asked sarcastically.

"Well..."

"Don't, now, the training?"

"Yosh! We will start with fifteen laps around Konoha!"

"WHAT!?" Ino's jaw dropped, this kid was definitely insane.

"Yes, fifteen laps, it was difficult for me at first, but now I do 25 every morning!" Lee said enthusiastically.

"I can barely do fifteen laps at the academy running track..." Ino groaned. It was true, she had managed only seventeen during the competition she had just lost against Sasuke. But hey, she had been running as fast as she could the entire time. Most villagers would have fainted after five laps at that pace. Of course most jounin, or maybe even chuunin, could probably do that without breaking a sweat.

"To succeed, you must push yourself." Lee said.

"Yeah, but if I try running fifteen laps around the village I'll have a heart attack!" Ino protested.

"That is why you must pace yourself!" Lee explained.

"R-right... I knew that..." Ino blushed slightly with embarrassment. Obviously she shouldn't try to sprint the entire time. She sighed, maybe if she had paced herself against Sasuke she could have outlasted him... Not that it would have mattered, he still beat her at everything else.

"Then let us begin, we are wasting time!" Lee shouted and ran off, apparently he would be running with her.

Even at a careful jog, she was still getting tired after only a few laps. Konoha was a big village; it was tiring to run around it over and over again. Lee had already managed to lap her twice, and she could tell that he wasn't running as fast as he could. Hell, he wasn't even running, he was just doing a fast jog. At one point, during her fifth lap, he stopped her,

"It seems I have made a bad judgment, at this pace, the laps will take up most of the two hours I was going to train you for." Lee told her.

"Yeah, well, what else is going to help me outrun Sasuke but doing these laps?" Ino asked.

"Any training that makes you stronger will help you succeed, only a fool focuses on one thing!" Lee reprimanded her.

"R-right..." Ino replied.

"So take this list, I wrote it while I was running, you should train doing these things before you go to class." Lee handed her a piece of paper that he tore off a small notepad he pulled out of his pocket. She noticed that the notepad had dozens of pages covered in hastily scrawled notes.

Ino gave a loud sigh of relief as she _finally _the last lap. Lee had left a while ago. She sat down on a stone bench that was nearby.

"Thank Kami for whoever decided to put this here." She panted as she sprawled down on it. She wearily grabbed the list Lee had given her, and groaned. Not only was the writing sloppy, but it was a list of pure torture, "ugh, he even wrote down _optional _exercises, who does he think he is, my personal trainer?" She muttered. She supposed this would all be worth it if she could beat Sasuke, but it didn't seem like it was going to be fun in the meantime. Fortunately even though the running had taken nearly three, painful, hours, she still had just over an hour to get to class. However, it didn't leave much time to do the things on the list.

"Eh, I'll just do like one third of it all or something." She mumbled to herself, ". . . after I rest a bit more."

"Ino-chan? What are you doing here?" A soft voice spoke.

"Huh... oh, Hinata?" Ino asked. She then jumped up, "GAH! What time is it?!" She asked in a panic.

"J-just after seven, I-I was on my way to the academy when I saw you asleep on the bench..." The Hyuuga girl explained.

"Oh, good, that means I won't be late." She sighed in relief, though she was still very embarrassed.

"What were you doing?" Hinata asks.

"I'll explain on the way, lets go." Ino said, "oh, and I didn't bring any of my stuff, can I look over your shoulder during class?" She asked, further embarrassed.

"O-of course." Hinata replied. It was times like this that she was glad she had made friends with Hinata, she was a reliable friend, if only a little... make that _a lot_, insecure.

"Wow... that's pretty early..." Hinata said, "m-my father isn't even up that early."

"I know, it sucks." Ino replied, she had just told Hinata about Lee and his insane training methods.

"So th-that's why you fell asleep on the bench?"

Ino sighed in embarrassment, "yeah."

"If it is so crazy, wh-why do it?" Hinata asked.

"I need crazy if I want to beat Sasuke." Ino muttered.

"Unless you fall asleep again." Hinata giggled.

"Yeah yeah..." Ino grumbled, "hey wait, you just made a joke!"

"I-I guess..." Hinata looked confused.

"That's like, a first!" Ino grabbed Hinata's shoulders.

"I-it is?"

"Yes!" Ino hugged the confused girl, "I'm so proud!"

"I-it was j-just a joke..." Hinata mumbled shyly, rather embarrassed by her current position. Thankfully, Ino let go soon after,

"Yeah, but it was your first one, we'll have to celebrate after class." Ino said.

"W-we're going to be late for that class if we don't get going." Hinata reminded her.

"R-right..."

Class that day was relatively normal, though Iruka seemed confused as to why his number one, well, number two now, student had forgotten her class supplies. Not to mention falling asleep on a bench after running yourself ragged leads to a bad hairdo, which was something a girl like Ino _never_...ever did. She might focus on her training as a ninja a lot more these days, but she'd be damned if she wasn't pretty while doing it. Of course girls like Mia took the opportunity to make fun of her because of it. Hell, they'd use any excuse to make fun of her. Like losing to Sasuke, they'd be milking that one until the next competition. The competition in which she'd whup Sasuke good... she hoped.

So, after a day of embarrassment and torture of almost every kind that didn't involve actually strapping her down and poking her with sharp objects, it was time to celebrate Hinata's joke. Sure, technically she just wanted to do _something _fun, but why not take an excuse to go a little over the top. Her definition of over the top? Extra dango. The world's best comfort food, at least in her opinion. Some people said chocolate. In fact, that wasn't such a bad idea, dango _and _chocolate... Though, she'd have to avoid the scale for a few days to trick herself into thinking she hadn't gained any weight. Then again with that Lee kid's insane training, she'd probably be losing a lot more weight than this would gain her. Though, she wasn't sure what Hinata was going to do to fix that. Oh well, at least they'd have fun.

"B-but won't we get sick?" Hinata asked as they walked towards the dango shop.

"The point is to enjoy it before that happens." Ino told her, "then start back up the moment you feel better."

"It isn't healthy though..."

"We're ninja in training; we'll burn it off soon enough." Ino said, "and then some in my case..." She added with a groan.

"I... guess." Hinata mumbled.

"I guess? Oh come on! Smile, look a little excited!" Ino reprimanded. Hinata just looked at the ground, "don't make me tickle you again." Ino threatened.

"P-please d-don't..." Hinata pleaded, Ino enjoyed doing that any time Hinata wasn't having enough fun in her opinion. In Hinata's opinion, it was torture. Maybe it had been fun at first, but it had gotten old. And it made people look at them funny...

"What are you two doing here? On a date?" Said the most unlikable person Ino could think of.

"Oh for the love of, why do _you _all people have to be here Mia?" Ino grumbled.

"What, you think you're the only one allowed to get dango here?" Mia raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"No, but a jerk like you certainly shouldn't be." Ino glared.

"Well I think a loser like you and your wimpy little friend shouldn't be either." Mia retorted.

"Oh you're in for it..." Ino began to stomp forward, but Hinata stopped her.

"D-don't, l-lets just go s-somewhere else..." Hinata said.

"See? Wimp!" Mia taunted.

"But she insulted you!" Ino argued, "again!"

"I don't care." Hinata shook her head.

"You better keep a tight grip if you want to keep that one on a leash Hinata!" Mia laughed; she thought it was humorous to see Ino being held back by Hinata of all people. In her mind, Ino must be one big loser if a shy little wimp like Hinata could control her.

Hinata was angry, but she had never been able to let feelings like that out. Her father had always treated her as a failure, and she had no way of proving him wrong. Her little sister could outdo her in some ways. She just wanted her and Ino to leave, to avoid Mia's taunting. She knew Ino could probably shut her up. But that would mean standing there doing nothing, again, and letting her friend beat someone to a pulp. Not to mention, deep down, she wanted that pleasure for herself. She was used to being insulted or ignored, to being a wallflower. But what truly bothered her was when her friends were insulted or hurt. Before Naruto had disappeared, she had always wanted to reach out to him, something about him had reminded him of herself, his loneliness, but somehow he had managed to keep a smile on his face.

"Sh-shut up." Hinata said quietly.

"What was that, did I just see you try to grow some claws?" Mia kept up her teasing, "nice try, but no cigar. It's pathetic really."

"Y-you're pathetic!" Hinata said a bit more loudly.

"What?!" Mia seemed shocked that Hinata of all people would say that.

"Y-you lost to Ino, so you try to make yourself feel better this way, b-but what has it gotten you?" Hinata replied.

"Shut your mouth before I do it for you!" Mia threatened.

"Try it, I dare you." Ino glared, though inside, she was deeply surprised by Hinata. Mia glared at the two, but then stomped off.

The two stood there in silence for a bit,

"Wow, Hinata..." Ino finally said.

"I... I just got tired of doing n-nothing..." Hinata replied quietly, "umm, h-how did I do?"

"Are you kidding me? Great! I would have just knocked her teeth out, but you made her leave without laying a finger on her." Ino praised.

"A-actually, I think she left because you sc-scared her..." Hinata replied.

"True." Ino said, "now let's get some dango, I'm starving!"

- - -

"CANDY!" Sakura shouted as she finally reached the small pile at the end of the inn hallway.

"Looks like you lose Naruto." Mitsuru said.

"Waaah, my ramen!" Naruto grieved.

Mitsuru sighed, "Fine, one all you can eat ramen meal if you can do it on your next try."  
Naruto gulped, could he do it? It was hard, one little mistake and the accursed wooden sandals made noise. If only there was a way to not have to touch the floor or something... then it came to him,

"I'll be right back!" Naruto said and raced out of the inn.

"Umm... OK..." Mitsuru blinked in confusion. Sakura was too busy stuffing her face with candy to care...

Ten minutes later Naruto returned, panting slightly, but otherwise no different than before.

"Ready?" Mitsuru asked.

"Yep!" Naruto said.

"Alright," Mitsuru faced away from the hall as usual, "go." A second passed, and there was a _thud_ from the far end of the hallway. Mitsuru prepared to throw the ball, but then realized where it had come from. He saw Naruto sitting at the destination spot at the end of the hall rubbing his head as if he had just hit it, and Sakura had a look of shock on her face.

"I win?" Naruto asked.

"Uh, h-how the hell did you?" Mitsuru asked.

"I slid!" Naruto replied, "but then I ran into the wall..." He laughed nervously.

"You... slid?" Mitsuru asked.

"Yeah, watch!" Naruto made a hand seal to gather chakra, and then silently pushed off with one foot... and slid across the hallway as if it was covered in ice,

"AAAH!" Naruto shouted... he had forgotten about the stairs...

". . . well damn." Mitsuru said.

"Umm, i-is he OK?" Sakura asked.

"Eh, a little fall down the stairs won't hurt him." Mitsuru shrugged.

"I'm OK!" Naruto called from the first floor.

"See?"

"So you used your chakra as a barrier between you and the floor?" Mitsuru asked once Naruto had climbed back up and they were in their room. Sakura was currently pouting since she had eaten all her candy... and she probably had a stomach ache too.

"Yeah! I remembered how when I didn't use enough chakra when climbing trees I would slide sometimes." Naruto explained.

"Why didn't I ever think of that?" Mitsuru frowned, _"Leave it to Naruto to turn a mistake into something useful..." _Mitsuru thought, "But you're gonna have to fix the crash landing at the end or it will be useless." He reminded the boy.

"Yeah..." Naruto replied, "so what about my ramen!?"

"You'll get it don't worry, but this town doesn't have any good ramen stands... or maybe none at all." Mitsuru said, _"I'm not sure this place even deserves to be called a town."_

"Then lets leave this dump and go someplace that _does _have ramen!" Naruto argued.

"Soon, soon, but for now we gotta lay low." Mitsuru said.

"Fiiine." Naruto grumbled.

"So, when are you gonna ask?" Mitsuru said, hoping to change the subject before Naruto started moping which, while rare, was not fun to deal with.

"Ask what?" Naruto looked confused.

"You... forgot..." Mitsuru twitched.

"Forgot what?" Naruto still didn't get what he was missing.

"It's your birthday you blockhead!" Mitsuru grinned.

"Oh... right..." Mitsuru got worried when the boy didn't start bouncing off the walls.

"'Oh right?' That's it?" Mitsuru raised an eyebrow.

"WOOOHOOO! BIRTHDAAAY!" Ah, there it was.

"Oh right, it's Naruto's birthday!" Sakura spoke up.

"WhatIgetwhatIget!?" Naruto said almost incoherently he said it so fast.

"Right, about that..." Mitsuru said, _"Shit, part of the reason I wouldn't tell him is because I didn't get anything yet! Shitshitshti!"_

"You _did_ get me something right?" Naruto glared suspiciously.

"N-no?" Mitsuru shrugged helplessly, "the err, incident, made me forget..."

Naruto began pouting and walked over to a corner so no one would see the extent of his disappointment. Mitsuru had never forgotten before, first had been the book, then he had taught him a special taijutsu move, and then the year before had been extra ramen. It had almost been as good as Ichirakus he recalled.

"Naruto." It was Sakura.

"What?" Naruto muttered sadly.

"He didn't forget on purpose, I'm sure he's very mad at himself for forgetting." She told him.

"I know... but still... he didn't forget you or my last three birthdays." Naruto replied.

"How about I get you something once we get to the next town?" Sakrua suggested.

"How can you get me anything? Mitsuru's the only one with money." Naruto asked.

"I'll think of something, I promise!" Sakura assured him.

"If you say so..." Naruto mumbled.

"I do say so, now cheer up!" Sakura said... and then hugged him. Naruto didn't pout once the rest of the day.

- - -

_Three__Days Later_

"Have you seen a pale man with two children? They would have bright hair colors." A raven haired woman asked.

"Well... maybe, pink and blond?" The inn keeper replied. The woman looked to her partner, also with black hair, who nodded,

"Yeah, you've seen them?"

"Yup, weirdos. Were doing some sort of weird 'training' upstairs..." The inn keeper rolled his eyes.

"Any idea where they went?" The womans partner, who was male, asked.

"Nope, all I know is they took a right out the door." The inn keeper gestured to the right with his thumb.

"I suppose that will have to do." The woman muttered, "let's go." As the two walked out, the inn keeper noticed that they both had the symbol of a red and white fan on the back of their vests...

_

* * *

_

**AAAAH! Forgive forgive! This took forEVAR to come out I know. I was busy... being lazy... sorry... I know what you're thinking, 'how dare you make us wait for the first big fight!' SORRY! It took my friend a WEEK (or more, I forget now) to edit it. But hey, it's here! I will try to get the next one out faster. And hey, there is a NaruSaku moment! So there!**

**Now that the apology is out of the way, onto my usual end of chapter note/rant/whatever the hell you want to call it.**

**I think this might be the longest chapter yet! Or at least close to it. So yes, Ino is training with Lee, poor girl. Hinata is starting to gain a little confidence. And Mitsuru is a mean mean person. I mean seriously, who pelts children in the head with a rubber ball (and then forgets their birthday...)? Gosh... Oh wait, I made him... that means I am a mean mean person! MUAHAHAHAHA! **

**Anywayz, I decided to leave off on an ominous ending, I figured it would still be exciting, but not as much of a cliffhanger. I mean, two cliffhangers in a row? Yeah right, this isn't some cheap-ass cartoon after all!**

**Anywayz#2: review if you feel like it. (And I really hope that you do...)  
Translations:  
Arashi Fungeki = Tempest Fury (its exact workings will be explained later)**


	10. Green, Orange, and Red

**(Warning, excessive swearing and slightly suggestive [well maybe a bit more than slightly] suggestive themes in one part, but it is a relatively short part. Hopefully that means I don't need to give this an M rating.)**

**Yes yes, I know: OH EM GEE! HE HASN'T ABANDONED IT!! Nope, and you'll find out why this took so long if you read til' the very end.  
**

**In response to NarutoRocks21113043's (damn that's a lot of numbers!) review saying: Mitsuru is such a bad ass (and more but we don't care about the rest).  
Well, if you think that fight scene was good, just wait til' later, it gets WAY better, epic even! (assuming I don't screw up...) There's a little teaser for all of you. **

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* * *

  
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**Green, Orange, and Red**

Ino had been struggling with her training with the overly energetic Rock Lee. Getting up ridiculously early only to run laps until she felt ready to drop dead was not exactly easy, at least not for her. Lee made it look easy. Ino realized if she wanted to make the most of this, she was gonna have to give it her all. This meant getting up even earlier. To compensate for waking up at the ungodly hour of 2 a.m. she decided to go to bed within two hours of getting home after class. It would eat up a lot of her day, but beating Sasuke would make it all worth it. And it should give her just enough time to hang out with Hinata after class. So in the end, it wasn't _that _bad.

"Yosh, you are here, now to begin the laps!" Lee announced.

"I... already... did them." Ino panted.

"Lying to get out of training is very u-"

"Unyouthful I know... but do you think I am panting and drenched in sweat because I jogged to get here?" Ino cut him off, beginning to catch her breath.

"Hmm." Lee looked her over, "Yosh, it seems you have done the laps already! Your youthfulness is inspiring!"

"Yeah yeah, now maybe we can do something different for once, normally you leave before I am done." Ino said. To be truthful, she hadn't really completed all the laps, she had done about half before Lee got there. She figured it would still be good enough to help her get in shape, and now maybe she could get Lee to help her train in some other way.

"Not yet, I must do my laps first!" Lee explained.

_"Why you little…! I get up at two and run around Konoha while its pitch black and you have the nerve to... AUGH!!" _Ino struggled not to strangle the boy, "Ugh, fine, I might as well run them with you." She muttered, _"Since technically I didn't finish mine..."_She added mentally.

"Yosh, let's go!" Lee said and took off. Ino got tired just watching him, but with a groan she followed. Lee finished his laps quickly, while Ino _still_hadn't finished hers... not that Lee knew that.

"Now... can we do... something else?" Ino asked, once again out of breath.

"Push-ups!" Lee said energetically, as if he thought push-ups were fun. Hell, he probably did.

"What? No! I can do those on my own, can't you show me something new?" Ino complained. Lee scowled,

"To become strong, you must not only struggle through difficult training, but you must have discipline, and that means sticking to a routine!" He reprimanded.

"I get that, but usually you're gone by the time I finish my laps, and this time you're not, so it's already different!" Ino argued. Lee didn't immediately respond, thinking over what she had said,

"This is true! Follow me then!" Lee instructed. The boy led her into a wooded training area, and to a large tree stump. The bark had been worn away in a ring around the middle, as if it had been struck repeatedly.

"Wow, someone abused that thing." Ino said.

"That is the results of my training!" Lee said.

"What?! You're the one who did all that? It must have taken days!" Ino's jaw dropped.

"Nearly half a year!" Lee said. Ino just stared in shock; the wood itself had even been damaged.

_"I bet he got a _lot _of splinters doing that..."_Ino thought dumbly, "That's umm, impressive. I guess." Ino said. What else _could _shesay? To do that kind of damage to the tree stump must have taken a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. Little did she know how true that was.

"Thank you!" Lee replied in his usual energetic way, "Now, I shall show you the proper way to kick as Gai-sensei showed me!"

"Err..." Ino wasn't sure what to say. She _had _asked for different, but the academy had already taught her basic taijutsu. What could he show her that the academy hadn't, _"DUH! He relies solely on taijutsu, of course his sensei would have taught him extensively in that; I bet he can show me all kinds of things!"_

"Are you ready?" Lee asked.

"Yeah!" Ino grinned in anticipation. Lee seemed pleased with her enthusiasm and walked over to the stump and then showed her a kick. She winced slightly as his leg connected with the wood, thinking that it had to hurt. She also noticed that it was slightly different from what the academy taught. With some verbal instruction, it was then her turn. She expected it to be different and hopefully more effective. What she didn't expect was to fall on her ass on her first try. To do what Lee had shown her required shifting her weight in a way she wasn't used to. That and the stump hurt like hell to kick, "OW!" Ino clutched her aching shin.

"Do not hit the log with the front of you shin!" Lee explained, "If the shin bone hits the stump head on, you will hurt yourself."

"No, really?!" Ino snapped.

"D-do not worry, I did the same thing my first try... though I did not fall over." Lee tried to make her feel better... and failed. Ino would not give up however, and a painful half-hour later, she was starting to get a feel for it. However, it was soon time for Lee to leave. She decided that she had abused her shins enough for one day and set to doing things on the list he had given her the first day they had met for training.

- - -

Naruto felt a weight on his chest when he woke up. It was strange since last he checked, his blankets didn't weigh that much. He heard a giggle and saw that Sakura was already awake and sitting on the floor next to him.

"What?" Naruto asked groggily.

"Look!" She replied, pointing at his chest. Naruto looked and saw something wrapped in brown paper.

"What is it?" Naruto blinked, trying to wake up.

"I told you I'd get you something, didn't I?" Sakura told him.

". . ." Naruto stared at the wrapped object for a second, "A PRESENT!" He shouted excitedly, fully awake now. He climbed out of his blankets and tore the brown paper off his present like a starving animal with food. It turned out to be a bright orange jacket with a blue collar and cuffs.

"I thought it was ugly, but I knew you'd like it." Sakura smiled.

"IT'S AWESOME!" Naruto hugged the jacket.

"Then try it on!" Sakura said, "I wanna see how it looks!" Naruto quickly obeyed and put on the jacket. Sakura was surprised to see that the horrible orange thing actually didn't look so bad on Naruto.

"What do you think?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"I think you're the only one who could look good in _that_." Sakura answered truthfully.

"Really!?" Naruto asked, taking it as a compliment, though in reality, it was more of an insult to the jacket. Sakura nodded,

"Yeah." She said.

"Where's sensei, I want him to see!" Naruto asked.

"Umm, he's not here, I don't know where he is." Sakura replied. She was telling the truth, mostly. After he helped her get the jacket, he had sent her back with it alone; though he had made sure she got to the hotel they were staying at safely. He had said he didn't want to ruin it by being there, that Naruto would probably be happier getting the present from just her.

- - -

"Give me another..._hic_..." Mitsuru slurred. Normally he didn't drink, but he decided to make an exception just this once. And if it was worth doing, it was worth over doing. Though with sake, that's not necessarily a good idea...

"You've had enough!" The bartender grumbled. "You tried to feel up my wife damn it!"

"I didn't know!" Mitsuru argued, "an' I still thin' she wash checkin' me out..." He added in a slurring mutter. He then went to lean back in his...stool. This proved to be foolish as stools are most certainly not meant to lean back in. There was a loud _thud _as Mitsuru crashed to the floor.

"Will someone carry this moron out of here!?"

- - -

"Don't worry Naruto, he'll be back eventually and he can see then." Sakura assured Naruto.

"I guess..." Naruto muttered.

"Will you cheer up! I got you that present so you would be happy!" Sakura complained.

"Sorry." Naruto said.

"Don't apologize." Sakura sighed, "I'm gonna yell at sensei when he gets back for being an idiot, he's messed up your birthday twice now!" She said in a huff.

"Last time you said it wasn't his fault..." Naruto said.

"He has no excuse this time! He's just a big dummy!" Sakura ranted.

Naruto chuckled, "You called sensei a dummy."

"So?"

"Err, well I thought it was funny." Naruto explained.

Sakura giggled, "Well you're silly! You were being all depressed a second ago."

"Silly?" Naruto blinked confusedly.

"Yeah, but don't worry it's not a bad thing!" Sakura smiled.

"So how'd you get the jacket?" Naruto asked.

"Well..." Sakura began.

- - -

"Sheet... where'z the hotel, leff, or righ'?" Mitsuru slurred as he walked down a street... right past the hotel, "oh, there it ish!" He said and walked into the building. . . ten seconds later he walked out with his face beet red, "strip club. . ." He muttered dazedly. He glanced back, considering going back in, but the small part of his rational mind that still functioned told him he really should get back to the hotel.

"Hey mister, you lost?" A young teenage girl asked.

"Err, yesh, yesh I am." Mitsuru admitted, embarrassed, though he was too drunk to care.

"No wonder..." The girl muttered to herself, "where are you trying to get to?"

"A hotel, the one with the red sign... stripes..." Mitsuru explained.

"The one right over there?" The girl sighed, pointing at the hotel.

". . . oh. . ." Mitsuru stared at it confusedly, wondering how he could have missed it, "I. . . um. . . thanksh. . ."

"Whatever..." The girl waved him off, getting back to her own business.

". . . I have to pee now." Mitsuru muttered to himself.

- - -

"The wall?" Naruto asked.

"I said red not purple." Sakura said.

"Ummm... your dress?" Naruto tried again.

"Took you long enough! Some ninja you are!" Sakura giggled. They had been playing a guessing game to pass the time.

"Yeah, well I didn't expect _you _tobe the answer..." Naruto grumbled.

"Calm down." Sakura scolded, "You did figure it out didn't you?"

"I guess." Naruto mumbled. Though it had been a joke, the remark against his ninja-hood had bothered him slightly.

"I hear footsteps, sensei might be back!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Really?!" Naruto stood up quickly. Moments later they heard grumbling outside their door and the sound of the doorknob rattling.

"Whyyy... are there thereeee... key holesss..." A voice said from the other side of the door. Eventually the door opened and it was indeed Mitsuru.

"Sensei!" Naruto shouted excitedly, "Look!" He pointed at his chest and the jacket he was wearing.

"Baffroom!" Mitsuru replied and stumbled into another room.

"Sensei... that's a closet..." Sakura explained confusedly.

". . . righ'." Mitsuru slurred slightly and tried a different room, guessing correctly this time.

"Is he OK?" Sakura glanced at Naruto.

"He smells funny." Naruto replied.

Eventually Mitsuru emerged from the bathroom, though it took a while. He still looked a bit... off, but not as bad as when he had entered the hotel room,

"Heh, sorry about that, umm, what is it Naruto?" Mitsuru asked somewhat nervously, feeling stupid for getting so drunk when he was supposed to be watching over the two kids.

"Look!" Naruto pointed at the new jacket he was wearing again.

"Ah righ', nice, you look good!" Mitsuru grinned.

"Really?" Naruto asked.

"Of course, hell, you're probably the only one who could look good in _that_." Mitsuru confirmed.

"That's what Sakura said."

"That's because it's true." Sakura replied.

"Well, I have to lay down for a bit, why don' you two play a game or something." Mitsuru suggested and, still somewhat unsteadily, walked towards his bed.

"Are you OK?" Naruto asked.

"'Course I am, I just didn't sleep too well last night." Mitsuru lied.

"Sensei... you walked into a closet." Sakura crossed her arms suspiciously.

"Everything is fine, I promise, now I am going to rest, wake me up if you need me." Mitsuru replied and lay down on his bed, not bothering to get under the sheets or even take his sandals off.

"He's not telling us something..." Sakura muttered.

"Green." Naruto said.

". . . what?" Sakura looked at him confusedly.

"Guess." Naruto grinned.

"What? Oh..." Sakura sighed. "Fine, uhhh, the lamp shade?"

"Nope!"

- - -

"Y-you look terrible..." Hinata said to Ino after class.

"Ugh, training with him is torture, it hurts to do... everything." Ino groaned. Currently they where sitting on a stone park bench, as Ino refused to take another step for the rest of the year. Well, not really, but at the moment she felt like sleeping and never waking up.

"M-maybe you shouldn't d-do it everyday." Hinata suggested.

"I have to or I won't be able to beat Sasuke!" Ino argued.

"Why is that so important?"

"He humiliated me; I can't let him get away with that!" Ino snapped, just the thought of the arrogant little Uchiha made her blood boil. "Sometimes he's worse than Mia!"

"I-I don't think anyone can be th-that b-bad." Hinata replied shyly. Though it wasn't very funny, spending time with Ino made Hinata use sarcasm and even the odd joke. It wasn't much, but it was a start on the path to self confidence... and very small start, but a start none-the-less.

"True." Ino agreed, frowning. It was annoying, Mia used to be a friend, and now she couldn't stand the sight of the black haired girl. Worse, ever since beating Ino, Sasuke was now the most popular kid in class, and half the girls swooned over him now. Pretty soon, he'd be getting marriage proposals...

_"Just wait, your ass is mine, and it'll be in pieces when I'm through with you!" _Ino thought angrily. Suddenly, Ino heard something that made her groan,

"Ino-san!!" It was the voice of Lee, and he was running int heir direction.

"Oh no..." Ino muttered.

"Wh-who is that?" Hinata asked.

"Lee." Ino replied.

"The boy who helps you with training?" Hinata looked at the strange boy.

"More like a hyperactive drill sergeant." Ino sighed, "what is it Lee?" She asked once he was standing next to them.

"Gai-sensei wishes to meet you!" He grinned.

"What? Why?" Ino was confused, _"Wait, if this is the student, what is the master like?" _wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"Because I've been helping you train." Lee explained.

"Oh..." Ino replied, _"I guess that makes sense. But I wanna go home!"_

"Yosh, so will you come." Lee looked at her expectantly.

"Err, well..." Ino glanced at Hinata, 'Help me!' She mouthed.

"U-umm, I-I uhhh." Hinata had had no idea what to say. Ino sighed,

"Alright, I'll go." She muttered.

"S-sorry..." Hinata whispered. Ino just waved it off, signifying that it was OK.

A few minutes later, Ino was standing before the strangest man she had ever seen... ever. EVER! He wore a jounin vest over a green jumpsuit and had eyebrows bushier than even Lee. He also had a bowl cut.

"YOSH! So this is my student's student?!" He asked loudly.

"Hai, Gai-sensei!" Lee saluted.

"I-I wouldn't necessarily say I'm his student..." Ino replied nervously as Gai looked her over.

"So..." Gai began, "Why do you wish to get stronger?" He asked.

"So I can beat somebody who humiliated me!" Ino answered, trying to sound confident.

"Revenge then? How unyouthful!" Gai declared, "One so young should not train for revenge, but to get strong for noble and youthful goal!"

"I-it's not just revenge, I just, well, umm..." Ino wasn't sure she wanted to explain herself to this strange green man. The only person who had any idea about why she pushed herself so hard was her father, and maybe Hinata, though she hadn't explicitly told the Hyuuga girl.

"Yes?" Gai leaned closer, expecting an answer.

"I-I made a promise to a friend." She looked to the side. There, it wasn't a lie, but it wasn't telling everything either, "And I can't keep it if someone can humiliate me like that."

"Now that is a more youthful goal!" Gai exclaimed and slapped her on the back in a friendly way... that nearly knocked her off her feet, "Well Lee, I cannot see any reason why you should not help this girl train!" He said and gave Lee a thumbs up and a blinding grin.

"Thank you Gai-sensei!" Lee exclaimed, tears in his eyes.

"_Dear Kami, what is with these weirdos!" _Ino thought, her right eye twitching wildly. The two were now hugging... Deciding that the conversation was over, she decided to sneak off before they remembered she was there.

"Now... wait, Lee, where did she go?" Gai asked, looking around.

"NO! MY STUDENT IS LOST!" Lee shouted in dismay.

- - -

"We must be getting close now, I'm getting sick and tired of this mother fucking shit! How hard can it be to find one mother fucking man! GOD DAMN MOTHER FUCKER!" The angry man punched a tree, leaving it splintered slightly.

"That's fifty, a new record." His female partner replied calmly, she had been keeping track of how many times he said 'mother fucker' . . . it helped stave off boredom ever so slightly.

"Go fuck yourself." The man growled.

"At this rate, I probably will be..." She muttered.

". . . really?" The man looked at her funny.

"You wish." She scoffed.

"Dammit." He sighed, his hopes for staying up late at night to watch her disappearing.

The two Uchiha had been looking for Mitsuru for longer than they cared to count at this point. They weren't getting any closer as far as they could tell.

"And it's not one man." The woman reminded him.

"Oh, right, it's a man and two fucking kids, that makes it so much fucking better!" The man snapped.

"Will you stop swearing, it's getting old." The woman frowned.

"Fuck fuck fuck." He glared.

"Oh, that's _real _nice." She sighed, "Very mature."

"LIKE I FUCKING CARE!" He shouted.

"Will you shut it; we're getting close to the next town." She scolded.

". . . bitch. . ." The man muttered, but listened.

Little did they know how close they would be this time.

- - -

"Will you just tell me already?" Sakura snapped. She had been trying to guess what the green thing was for over two hours. Naruto had taken to reading his book while he waited for her to guess.

"Nah, now stop interrupting unless you have a guess." He scolded, grinning mischievously.

"I get you that jacket and this is how you treat me." She glared, turning away to pout.

"Come on! Don't give up." He said.

Sakura suddenly noticed the mirror in their room. Frowning slightly she walked over to it and looked at her reflection... and her own green eyes,

"My eyes?" She turned and looked at Naruto.

"Yup!" He grinned, "Took you long enough."

"Well I didn't expect to be the answer..." She muttered.

"Why not, you were last time!" Naruto pointed out.

"Ha ha..." Sakura laughed sarcastically, "hmph, blue!"

"My eyes." Naruto answered.

"No." Sakura smirked.

"Errr... oh, my jacket?" Naruto guessed again, remembering that it wasn't totally orange.

"Darn you!" Sakura scowled.

"You made it too easy that I would be the answer." He laughed, "Don't reuse old tricks."

"I don't need _you _lecturing me, I'm supposed to be the smart one!" Sakura frowned.

"Hey! I'm not stupid!" Naruto argued, glaring. Their argument, though it was mostly friendly, was cut short when Mitsuru suddenly shot up in bed.

Mitsuru had a sinking feeling suddenly. No, not a sinking feeling, he was sensing something, two huge chakra presences. Almost as big as Naruto with the Kyuubi chakra. He had a good idea of who it was...

"Shit shit shit." He swore and jumped off the bed, "grab your stuff, we're leaving!" He ordered.

"Why?" Sakura stood up.

"JUST GRAB YOUR STUFF!" Mitsuru yelled in panic, quickly grabbing his bag which he never left unpacked, only taking things out when he needed them. He saw Naruto and Sakura scurrying to grab their things as well. Within two minutes they were ready, "Now remember; just act normal." He told them. He wanted to do a genjutsu, but was afraid someone might sense that.

They headed down and checked out of the inn, and Mitsuru led them towards an exit that was away from the chakra he sensed. It was one of those times he was glad for his bloodline, despite how messed up he was because of it. He could sense chakra better than almost anyone.

- - -

"I'll check this inn, you go find another one to check, but don't get yourself killed fighting them like that idiot." The female Uchiha told her partner.

"Like I would." He scoffed, but had no plans of taking such a risk.

The woman walked into the inn and up to the innkeeper, asking if she had seen anyone matching Mitsuru's description,

"He would have had two kids with him, who he has kidnapped." She said.

"Oh my, well they just left a few minutes ago." The inn keeper said, and without a response, the Uchiha woman was out the door in a heartbeat.

She quickly ran to her partner,

"Goro, they're here!" She shouted, "But I think they know about us!"

"What?! SHIT! WHERE!?" He yelled.

"Not so loud!" She scolded.

"You were yelling too!"

"Just get looking!"

- - -

"Wow Tsunade, you haven't had luck this good since we saw Mitsuru and those kids!" Shizune exclaimed.

"I know..." Tsunade frowned, she had a bad feeling.

"Hey, maybe that means they're nearby." Shizune suggested.

"Hm, maybe." Tsunade mumbled.

"I think we can pay off one of your debts at this rate!" Shizune went on, oblivious to Tsunade's discomfort.

"Yeah, great." Tsunade said, and pulled the lever of a casino machine... jackpot. The second one that day.

- - -

"GAH! Ugh..." Ino frowned, looking at the shattered glass on the floor... and the water that had been in it. It had been one of her favorites, with pink flower petals, it reminded her of Sakura. She thought it was silly sometimes, and she wasn't sure if it was good to have reminders, or if that just made it more difficult to go on, always wondering if she was OK. Suddenly the thought that maybe it was some sort of omen occurred to her, "Nah, that's just silly..." It didn't make her feel any better.

She sighed; now she had to clean up a mess when all she wanted to do was get to sleep... she hoped she wouldn't get cut.

- - -

"Come on, breathe, we'll be at another town soon, it's not much farther now." Mitsuru encouraged Sakura and Naruto. They had been running, or jogging, for nearly five hours straight since they had fled from the last town. The two towns traded often and were located near each other, and he figured the Uchiha's, assuming it was them, wouldn't suspect them to head to another town so nearby, again assuming they knew about them. He knew it was risky, but it was the best idea he had at the moment. They needed to stock up on supplies anyway, they hadn't had a chance at the last town, he hadn't thought they would need to do so anytime soon, but now they would have to go back to hiding in the woods for a while, _"Dammit, I don't want to have to make them go through that shit again." _Thought Mitsuru, glancing at the two exhausted kids, _"No choice though..."_

"I-I can't..." Sakura said, falling to her hands and knees.

"You have to." Mitsuru said, turning to her.

"I can't!" She argued, sounding exhausted. Naruto quickly went to her side, worried. He had a lot more stamina, so he didn't look as tired. Compliments of the Kyuubi, too bad Sakura didn't have that kind of advantage. Sometimes Mitsuru wondered if it had been a good idea to bring her along.

"Sensei..." Naruto looked at Mitsuru pleadingly.

"Alright, we'll rest for twenty minutes and give Sakura a chance to rest." He said, _"I don't think they even knew we were there, twenty minutes won't hurt... I hope."_

- - -

_Chapter 20_

_I remember my first mission, a crappy little D-Rank. I hated those things, I thought I was above that, I was a ninja for crying out loud. I'd love to do C-Ranks. B-Ranks, A-Ranks, assassinations, guard duty, so many missions that end up with blood. Lots of blood. The quickest ways to kill a man, break the neck, slit the throat, both nice and quiet, especially the second since it doesn't involve snapping bones... too bad it means emptying a few quarts of blood onto the ground._

_Never look at the face if you can, the look of shock, and sometimes desperation if they have the time to realize what's going on can mess with your head. Sometimes it makes you regret what you've done. What right do you have to end their life? I hate them, but sometimes I envy the depraved bastards who enjoy killing, at least they don't have to deal with the regret, hell, they get off on the act._

_If you were to ask me would I rather spend my career and waste my years of training weeding gardens for cheap money than kill people... well, let's just say I'd pay _you _if it meant I could weed your damn garden. I'll weed your grandma's garden while I'm at it._

_However, I suppose I shouldn't complain, it was my choice, and for all the lives I've taken, I saved some too. In the end, maybe, just maybe, it's all worth it... maybe._

- - -

"Shishui." Itachi said, walking over to his friend.

"Yes, Itachi?" Shishui replied.

"I need your help with something my friend." Itachi explained as he walked along the bank of a small river, Shishui beside him.

"What?" Shishui asked, giving Itachi a curious look.

"It is somewhat difficult to ask this of you I admit, and I don't expect you to be happy about this." Itachi went on.

"Just tell me already." Shishui urged, "How bad can it be?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised." Itachi suddenly stopped, turning to face his friend, "I need. . . your life." His hand shot out and wrapped around Shishui's throat. So shocked was the other Uchiha, that he had no time to evade, despite his great skill and speed.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Shishui choked out.

"I need power for our clan's plan to succeed. . . I need to take your life." Itachi explained cryptically.

"I-Itachi. . . I. . ." Shisui gasped, clawing at Itachi's hand, but it was futile.

"Now, my friend, die." Itachi said calmly, and then shoved his friends face into the water of the river, and held him there. It didn't take long, and soon Shishui's struggles halted.

"Forgive me, friend, but it was necessary." Itachi stood, letting his now dead friend's body drift away in the river. He felt a slight pang of regret, but he did not let it get to him, it was too late now anyway.

As Itachi watched the body drift away, he felt something run down his cheeks, something warm. He touched it, and found it was blood. He looked to the river and saw it flow in slow motion, he could read the movement of the current. Even more, he saw his reflection, how his eyes were now as red as the blood that had flowed down his cheeks, his Sharingan. However, it was not the Sharingan his father had been so proud to see awakened at such a young age, it was something else...

"Mangekyou...Sharingan..." He whispered to himself.

* * *

**Dun dun dun!!! Itachi has his super eyes! I am hoping that you understand why named the chapter title why I did (Orange =Naruto's new jacket, Green = Gai, Red = Itachi's mangekyou) I also put in some foreshadowing, though it might not be what you expect, bonus points if you guess what it is. (Note: The points get you nothing, they're just for bragging rights... though who the hell you'll brag to is beyond me.)**

**So, looks like I didn't get it out as fast as I had hoped, but school has kept me busy, that and playing video games to relieve the stress said school gives me. I also skipped around a lot near the end. Don't know if that'll be bad or not. Well, here's to hoping I didn't mess up too badly! I hope you enjoyed... because that means I rock!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Err, and it means I brought enjoyment to people?**

**(Heh, drunken Mitsuru...)**

**P.S. from the Editor of this story: Feel free to send him criticism. Harsh criticism xD**

**P.S.S from the Author: Feel free to be angry at the editor for taking, oh what was it? TWO MONTHS MAYBE, to edit this chapter. (was it seriosuly two months? I lost count... could have been more acgtually...)**


	11. Twilight Painted Red

**I know what you're thinking. Who the fuck is this guy? Yeah, blame my retarded editor, I've fired him, he's too lazy. I could get chapters out five times faster without him. I spent like four months waiting for him to edit this, and when I got it back... it turned out he'd never touched it. Yeah, he's an ass.  
In other news, prepare for epic stuff and shocking developments!  
And also, I know I said it at the beginning of chapter one, but this story contains HUGE spoilers from the **_**manga**_**, meaning you should probably go to a manga website (just type something like 'Naruto Manga' into google and you'll be all set) and read all the way up to the end. This chapter is relatively spoiler free however, so without further blabbing... enjoy.**

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**Twilight Painted Red**

"Th-that's your fourth jackpot today." Shizune twitched.

"I know." Tsunade replied in a mutter. Her winning brought her no joy at all, as something felt wrong. Terribly wrong. But what was it?

"Err, maybe we could go back to the hotel now, it's getting pretty late." Shizune said, as even the dull red glow of the sunset was gone now.

"Yeah sure, you can, but cash in these coins first; I'm going to go do...something." Tsunade replied and walked out of the casino, leaving a confused Shizune behind with a large amount of casino coins.

"But they're heavy..." Shizune whined, looking at the bag of casino coins she was going to have to lug around.

Tsunade walked through the streets of the small town, contemplating the feelings she had. She just _knew _that something was wrong, but she just didn't know what it was. Could it have something to do with her lucky streak? Normally her luck sucked, hence her nickname the legendary sucker, but otherwise things would be just fine. Could her good luck actually be an omen of something bad? And if so, would such a huge winning streak signify something truly terrible? She hoped not

There was another thing that bothered her, Shizune's suggestion that it might mean Mitsuru, Naruto, and Sakura were nearby. Just after they had separated nearly two years ago, she had had a similar, though smaller, lucky streak. Maybe that's all it was, that they were close by. It sounded weird, but she wouldn't complain if that's all it was. She sighed; she still had a bad feeling...

- - -

"Do you feel better now Sakura?" Mitsuru asked anxiously.

"Y-yeah, I guess..." Sakura mumbled, looking up at the sky. It was getting dark, and Mitsuru was tense, like something was after them. That combined with the darkness scared her, it felt like some monster was hiding in the shadows, stalking them. She whimpered slightly,

"I-is something after us?" She asked nervously.

"Uhh, well..." Mitsuru didn't want to make her panic.

"Don't worry Sakura, whatever it is, I'll protect you, it's a promise!" Naruto grinned confidently.

"Thanks Naruto." She muttered. She was still scared, but it was nice to know Naruto was looking out for her. She just hoped he wouldn't have to keep that promise, and if he did, that he could.

"Well come on, we gotta go, let's move!" Mitsuru said urgently.

"Yes sensei." Sakura said and got up from her sitting position.

"Sit back down honey, you aren't going anywhere." A female voice spoke.

"Son of a bitch..." Mitsuru swore, "Let me guess, you're an Uchiha, you're going to tell me you want Naruto, and then I'll have to tell you to shove it, so let's skip ahead shall we? SHOVE IT!" He turned to glare at the woman who was definitely an Uchiha.

"My my, is that any way to talk to a lady?" She asked, sounding appalled.

"You're no lady." A male voice said, and another Uchiha walked over to join the woman.

_"Aww shit, shit shit shit! Two?! I can't take two! Not anymore anyway!" _Mitsuru thought, panicking, _"Hell, probably not even before I got all fucked up."_

"Remind me to punish you for that remark later." The female Uchiha glared at her partner.

"Bitch." Was all the man said. And with that,, the argument was over and they both directed their attention to Mitsuru and the two children.

"I'm not letting you take Naruto!" Mitsuru growled.

"Then don't let us, we'll just crush you like the insignificant bug you are." The woman scoffed.

"Now now, is that any way to talk to the man? He was quite the ninja back in the day, show some respect. Sure we'll crush him but at least let him go with what little dignity he has left." The male Uchiha chuckled.

"Fair enough." The woman sighed.

"Now, since you are so insistent on being a lady, you can go first." The male Uchiha smirked.

"How gentlemanly..." The woman scowled.

"I don't care who goes first, you're both dead." Mitsuru snarled, _"But I'll need some help."_

"Yeah rig-" The male Uchiha was cut off by Mitsuru's next course of action.

"KYUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!" There was a large burst of smoke and when it cleared two large cats with vests similar to what Tsume had worn, but they had different colors. The hems of their vests were blue, not red. Both cats were the size of large tigers.

"Oooh, pretty kitties." The male Uchiha taunted.

"We'll see if you're still thinking that when I rip your damn throat open you arrogant bastard." One of the cats growled. It's fur was pure black, and his eyes were yellow, and shone with danger.

"I heartily agree." The other one spoke, its fur was tan with darker brown stripes. His eyes were darker in color, but held the same spark of danger.

"Sic 'em boys." Mitsuru said.

"We're cats, not dogs you retarded, pale-skinned moron." The black cat replied, but flexed his claws and began stalking towards the male Uchiha.

"Whatever, just kill the guy, I got the woman." Mitsuru muttered dejectedly.

"Of course you do." The panther-like cat muttered, still stalking towards the man. The striped one joined his partner in stalking towards the male Uchiha.

"Hmph, I'm not afraid of a few pussies." The male Uchiha laughed, "Katon: Karyuu Endan!" A large blast of flame roared towards the two cats, but they both jumped to the side. They were done with their cautious approach and now quickly leaped towards their prey. The black one lunged, but the Uchiha ducked. The striped one attacked next, but the Uchiha had his sharingan activated now and kicked the cat away. The cat yowled in anger, quickly catching itself. Black struck again, but the Uchiha leaped out of the way, however Stripes took the chance to jump on him before he could dodge again. The attack hit, but the Uchiha went into a roll and used the momentum to fling the striped cat off. He winced as he stood, clutching the claw marks now on his shoulder.

Meanwhile, Mitsuru faced the woman Uchiha,

"Hm, I recognize you, Uchiha Rika yeah?" Mitsuru asked.

"I'm honored." Rika replied sarcastically.

"And your partner is Uchiha Goro." Mitsuru said, "Good, I can carve your names into sticks and use them as grave markers once you're dead."

"Ah, well in that case we'll do that for you once _you're _dead." Rika replied.

"We'll see." Mitsuru scowled.

"Enough talk." Rika activated her sharingan.

"And here I thought women didn't know how to shut up." Mitsuru taunted.

"I'll be kicking you where it really hurts before you die for that." Rika glared, and the lunged forward with a punch. Mitsuru dodged, but took an elbow to the head anyway. With her sharingan, Rika had already known how he would move, and now she would begin to systematically take her opponent apart. Mitsuru practically withered under her taijutsu assault, and the woman Uchiha had to wonder how her other teammate had gotten himself killed.

"You're pathetic." Rika said as she kneed Mitsuru hard in the stomach. Her only response was a pained gurgle. She then struck him in the face... and felt her fist sink into him, "Augh, what is this!" Suddenly Mitsuru turned to stone and trapped her fist.

"Rock clone." Mitsuru rose out of the ground next to her, "Takes up more chakra than most clones, but that also makes it harder to see through with your sharingan... and great for traps like this. I can't help but wonder why a team of screw ups like you got chosen for this mission."

"Because we're not screw-ups." Rika replied, and in a burst of smoke was replaced by a log. Now there was a vaguely man-shaped hunk of stone with a large stick sticking out of the head.

"Weirdest damn statue I've ever seen." Mitsuru muttered in annoyance as he tried to see where Rika had gone.

"Behind you." Rika said. Mitsuru turned, but no-one was there, "I'm still behind you." Her voice came again.

"Oh screw this." Mitusru growled, "Doton: Arashi Fungeki!" Mitsuru said and slammed his palm on the ground. The earth around him began to buckle and heave and spikes of earth shot up in random spots. He quickly looked around and saw Rika jump to avoid a spike that would have impaled her.

"Damn you!" She shouted angrily.

"I'm not going down without a fight." He smirked as the jutsu ended.

"But you _will_ go down." She shouted and launched a new offensive.

Back with the male Uchiha, Goro, the fight was becoming more and more one-sided as the cats grew tired.

"It's like trying to catch a mouse with knives." Black grumbled, trying to ignore a wound on his front paw.

"And fire." Stripes agreed.

"We'll have to use our own jutsu then." Black said.

"Indeed." Stripes nodded, "You first."

"Fine then." Black shut his eyes and focused. Soon the grass under his feet rippled as wind swirled around his body. He then opened his eyes and charged at Goro. Stripes did the same and quickly followed.

"And what is this?" Goro asked, smirking.

"Stand still and find out!!" Black roared and jumped at the Uchiha. Goro dodged to the side, but part of his shirt was torn apart as Black shot by. Goro's eyes widened in surprise and he looked more cautious as Stripes ran at him. This time he jumped over the cat as it attacked, avoiding whatever jutsu they were using.

"Together this time!" Black ordered, and both cats charged at the same time.

"Too easy! Katon: Gougakyou no Jutsu!" Goro launched a massive fireball at the two cats. Both tried to dodge, but failed. The wind chakra that swirled around them ignited and both cats turned into fireballs, tumbling across the ground before bursting into smoke as they returned to their realms to avoid certain death.

"Your friends are gone, you're all alone now!" Rika laughed tauntingly as she kicked Mitsuru back.

"Dammit." Mitsuru swore, clutching his stomach, he was extremely nervous now. One on one with an Uchiha was considered suicide, but one on two was only for those with a serious death wish, _"I'll try and finish it now with a double jutsu." _He thought. It was his best chance.

He watched as Goro walked over to stand next to Rika, _"NOW!"_ He jumped back and began making hand seals.

"Doton: Arashi Fungeki!" Mitsuru repeated the earth jutsu. The ground began to quake once more and the two Uchiha's were unbalanced, "Doton: Hebi Shikon!" He shouted, completing a second set of hand seals. Suddenly, two massive curved spikes grew out of the ground in front of the Uchihas. Then, before they could regain their balance and dodge, the ground rose up around them shaping into the mouth of a massive snake made of earth. The mouth began to close, and the two massive fangs were getting closer by the second. If the two Uchiha didn't escape soon, they would be eaten or impaled by the earth jutsu, however, the previous jutsu had thrown off their balance.

"Gotcha." Mitsuru sighed in relief as the large snake-like mouth closed around the Uchiha.

"You won!" Naruto cheered. Sakura just fell to her knees in relief, shaken by the whole experience.

"Yeah, I won." Mitsuru sighed once more. However, the moment was ruined as the snake mouth, which was now losing its shape and collapsing as the jutsu ended, was ripped apart by a large horned head that burst out from the inside. A large bull tore free from the mound of earth, snorting and pawing the ground as it prepared for battle. The two Uchiha emerged after it.

"Ugh, now I'm covered in dirt!" Rika complained.

"Hey, be glad we're not dead, if I hadn't summoned the big guy we'd have been killed!" Goro growled.

"Yeah yeah, just finish this!" Rika snapped.

"Gladly, oi, Ushi, smash em!" Goro ordered the massive bull, which was easily more than twice the size of even the largest bull.

"Don't call me that..." The beast muttered angrily, but lowered its head and charged.

"Dammit!" Mitsuru quickly made hand seals and a large pillar of stone rose up to block the bull's charge. It was shattered as the bull hit it, but it did halt the charge. Mitsuru sighed in relief at that, but prepared for its next move. It never came though, as suddenly Goro jumped onto the bull's head, the bull then tossed its head, launching Goro forward. The man flipped in midair and came down fist first into Mitsuru's face before he could move. Mitsuru hit the ground and slid backwards form the force of the blow. He writhed in pain and spat out blood.

"It's over now, give up and I will make your death as painless as possible." Goro said, drawing a short blade from his hip.

"STAY AWAY FROM MY SENSEI!" Naruto suddenly shouted, "KYUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!" There was a massive burst of smoke and a large red horn rose out of it. As the smoke cleared, the rest of what Naruto had summoned appeared. A large green worm with a huge horn on its head.

"Who!? Who has summoned my greatness!?" It roared out in a raspy, but booming voice.

"That's not important! Save my sensei!" Naruto ordered, pointing at Mitsuru and Goro.

"As you wish..." It hissed, turning to the two men. Quickly figuring out it must be the one on the ground who needed saving, the horned worm reared back and then brought its massive horn down on Goro, however the Uchiha was too fast for the lumbering creature and quickly jumped away.

"By Kami! How did he summon that thing?!" Goro stared in wide-eyed shock.

"I don't know, just have the bull take it down!" Rika shouted.

"You heard her, kill it!" Goro shouted at the bull. The bull tossed its head and then charged, head down, and horns pointed to impale.

"Killed!? No! I shall swat you!" The worm lowered its head as well, but angled its horn and then swiped sideways, hitting the bull in the side, swatting the huge beast to the side. Then, before it could get up, the worm stabbed the fallen beast, dispelling it.

"Dammit, Rika, let's roast it!" Goro began making hand seals. Rika quickly followed suit.

"No! I will not be roasted!" The worm announced grandly, "You will be flattened!" The huge creature reared its body up, then using the rear end of its body, surged forth and brought its bulk down on the Uchiha.

"SHIT! MOVE!" Goro shouted, diving to the side. Rika gladly took his advice and jumped out of the way as well.

"You will be first, puny man!" The worm shouted and turned to smash him flat with his upper body.

"Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!" Rika fired a barrage of fireballs from the other side of the worm, badly burning numerous spots on its back. The huge creature writhed and then thrashed, turning and trying to slam itself into Rika, but the woman dodged with the aid of her sharingan.

"You're toast you big, fat bastard!" Goro shouted, "Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!" He breathed a torrent of flame towards the huge worm. The horned worm writhed as the flames ate away at it. After only a few moments, it couldn't take anymore and disappeared in a large burst of smoke.

"Damn that was annoying!" Goro shouted, now very riled up by the fight, "I'm killing all of you now!"

"Just don't kill the boy, or we'll be hung." Rika advised.

"Whatever!" Goro grumbled, "First I'll cut the guys legs off, then I'll make him watch as I skin the girl! Of course I'll have to tie the boy down so he doesn't get in the way..." He ranted and pulled out his sword again, stomping towards Mitsuru.

Mitsuru had been shocked by Naruto's massive summon, and was now demoralized that it had lost.

"Naruto, Sakura, run! I'll hold them off!" He ordered, getting back to his feet. If anything, maybe they could escape and he could kill at least one of the Uchiha.

"Hold us off!? You couldn't hold off a mouse!" Goro shouted, blood lust beginning to consume him. He suddenly dashed forward, slamming the hilt of his sword into Mitsuru's stomach. Mitsuru coughed up blood and saliva, doubling over from the blow. His tired body no match for the bloodthirsty Uchiha and his sharingan.

"Sensei!" Naruto shouted.

"H-he told us to run!" Sakura stuttered, scared out of her wits.

"You're not going anywhere! Just sit down, it'll be easier!" Goro shouted as he threw Mitsuru to the ground.

"R-run!" Mitsuru coughed, trying to get to his feet.

"Oh give up!" Goro stomped down on him

"No! I WON'T RUN!" Naruto roared as loud as his young lungs would let him. Seconds later a shock wave went through the ground and the area became bathed in a red light.

"Eh?" Goro looked towards the source of the light. What he saw was Naruto, covered in a red aura. Red chakra swirled around him, and the whisker marks on his cheek became more prominent. His eyes were red and slitted, "What in the-" Goro was cut off when Naruto leaped at him and slammed his fist into his face. So shocked was the man, that he just watched in slow motion through his sharingan as the boy knocked him off his feet.

"Touch my sensei again, and I'll kill you!" Naruto growled.

"So what? If I just play nice and leave him alone you'll let me go?" Goro coughed slightly as he got to his feet.

". . . no." Naruto glared and lunged again, faster than he should have been able to. This time though, Goro was ready and dodged to the side. However, as soon as Naruto landed, he turned and came at Goro again with a backhand. Goro ducked under it, and then had to lean back to avoid a knee to his face. Unfortunately, that was a very awkward position, and Naruto was able to kick him hard in the face, sending the back of Goro's head into a painful collision with the ground.

"Dammit Goro, I don't care what happened to him, can't you handle a little kid!?" Rika shouted.

"You fight him then!" Goro grumbled, dizzily trying to get up. Naruto was not ready to let him though, and punched him back down.

"I have to do everything." Rika growled. She ran over and launched a kick at Naruto, but the boy leaped back easily and grabbed her foot before she could pull it back. He then grabbed her ankle with his other hand, and with a roar of effort, lifted her off the ground and threw her over his shoulder. He then turned back to Goro, but the man was gone.

"Alright kid, party's over!" Naruto quickly looked to where the voice was coming from, and saw Goro holding Sakura off the ground, "Give up or else. And Rika, why didn't _YOU_ grab the girl when you had the chance, it would have saved me a headache!"

"Screw you." Rika glared as she got up. Naruto tensed, but realized there was nothing he could do. He growled dangerously, but then slumped in defeat. The red chakra slowly receding.

"Good boy, Rika, grab him." Goro ordered.

"I don't think so, bitch, stay there, bastard, drop the girl." A very angry female voice ordered from behind Goro. Rika turned to see who it was,

"Ts-Ts-Tsunade-sama!?" She stared in shock.

"Oh shit..." Goro twitched, "L-look, we're under orders fr-" He was cut off as a very strong hand grabbed the arm that was holding Sakura and snapped it backwards, "AUUUUUGH!" Goro screamed in pain, dropping Sakura. And with Sakura safe, Tsunade punched him flying, sending the man skidding across the ground, landing at an angle that snapped his neck at one point. . . though he didn't stop skidding across the ground until a few seconds after.

"D-dammit..." Rika backed away slowly.

"Give me one reason I shouldn't break every bone in your body." Tsunade cracked her knuckles as she slowly walked towards her.

"Mitsuru kidnapped those two, we-" Rika hastily tried to come up with an excuse.

"Then why the hell were you holding Sakura hostage huh!?" Tsunade snapped, now standing face to face with the Uchiha woman, glaring daggers.

"Uhh." Rika had nothing.

"Thought so." Tsunade scowled... and backhanded Rika so hard she spun around twice and dropped were she stood, out cold. It was rather comical, except no one was in the mood to laugh.

"Tsu...nade?" Mitsuru said weakly.

"Well, looks like you put up quite a fight, so why were those two nearly unscathed?" Tsunade asked, sounding annoyed.

"How about I tell you when I don't feel like an overused punching bag?" Mitsuru struggled to his feet, standing shakily, "Are you OK Sakura?"

"Y-yes..." The girl whimpered.

"Naruto?" Mitsuru turned to the blond boy. Naruto nodded, looking on the verge of tears form the stressful event, "Hey, its OK kid, you did good, now don't cry or you'll ruin it." Mitsuru smiled weakly.

"O-OK..." Naruto sniffed, trying to put on a tough face.

"You three are lucky I was in the town nearby." Tsunade grumbled, "I just happened to be looking in the right direction when someone use a fire jutsu and figured I should investigate."

"Right, does that mean you have a bed I can pass out in?" Mitsuru asked hopefully.

- - -

Naruto found himself in a strange place, it was wet and dark. Suddenly, a light turned on, followed by another one, revealing a path. He followed them and found himself in a room filled with water, facing huge vertical bars, a gate of some sort, seemingly held shut by only a small seal.

"I can't believe it is someone like _you _who hold me captive. It is degrading." A deep booming voice said from behind the bars.

"Wh-who are you?" Naruto asked.

"I? Who am I?" Suddenly claws slammed into the bars, and a snarling face became visible, "I AM THE KYUUBI! KING OF DEMONS! AND I AM WHO HAS BEEN TRAPPED WITHIN THIS PATHETIC SHELL YOU CALL A BODY FOR ELEVEN DAMNED YEARS!" The Kyuubi roared. The Kyuubi then pulled back a little, seeming to calm down slightly, "And I am he who you owe a debt to, it was I who let you summon that prideful fool Chishiki, and the ugly horned thing from that last battle. It was I who gave you the power to protect you pathetic sensei." The demon explained.

Naruto stared fearfully at the demon, but then suddenly he began to get angry, and why should he be scared, it was trapped behind bars.

"I... I don't owe you anything." He muttered.

"What was that?" The Kyuubi asked, annoyance creeping into its voice.

"I said... I don't owe you anything." Naruto stared defiantly at the Kyuubi.

"Oh really? Well without me you are nothing!" The Kyuubi roared.

"Without you, my life wouldn't suck!" Naruto yelled back, "You're the one who owes me!" He argued, letting eleven years of bottled up pain begin to come out, "People hate me because of you! Sensei and Sakura got hurt because of you! Everything bad that happens is because of you!" Naruto was now panting, tears running down his face as he shouted at the demon who had made his life a living hell.

"You forgot to mention your poor, dead mommy and daddy." The Kyuubi said sarcastically, rolling its eyes in annoyance, not phased at all by Naruto's outburst.

"SHUT UP!" Naruto screamed, "SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!"

"Hmph, will you be quiet!" Kyuubi snapped, "I'm willing to make a deal here." Naruto didn't answer, just glaring at the demon as tears rolled down his cheeks, "You are right that I have ruined your life, and I don't really care, but since I am stuck inside of you and if you die, I die, then I am willing to help you when you need me, got it?"

"I don't want your help!" Naruto shouted.

"Didn't you just say I owed you!? Well this is all I can give you, so be glad you're getting anything!" The Kyuubi growled, "Look, we _both_ hate the Uchiha got it? Since we will inevitably have to face them, I am willing to help you. I suggest you get used to my chakra, get used to how it feels, and get used to drawing it out." The Kyuubi laughed menacingly, "You'll be needing it I'm sure."

- - -

"Hey, hey kid, you OK?" Naruto woke up to a pair of brown eyes looking down at him. At first he was startled, but then realized it was Tsunade, "Ugh, you smell like sweat, are you sick?" She asked, "You were squirming like a dying animal in your sleep."

"N-no... just a bad dream." Naruto said. Though, he was pretty sure the conversation had been real.

"Well, that'll do it too." Tsunade stood up straight.

"Is sensei OK?" Naruto asked, sitting up.

"I'm sure he's had worse, but if what he told me is true, you saved him back there." Tsuande replied.

"Y-yeah..." Naruto replied. According to the Kyuubi though, it had been the demon who had done all the work.

"Where's sensei?" Naruto asked.

"In a different room. Shizune's checking on him right now." Tsunade explained, leaning against a wall.

"What about Sakura?"

"She's still asleep over there." Tsunade pointed at Sakura curled up in some blankets on the floor.

"Oh..." Naruto said.

"So, what happened back there, Mitsuru didn't tell me much, he was pretty tired." Tsunade said.

"Well..." Naruto began. He went through the details of the battle, stopping after the giant worm he summoned.

"And then what?" Tsunade asked. She wanted to know what happened next, since she already had a good idea of what it was, but she wanted to know what Naruto said.

"W-well..." Naruto mumbled, not very keen on talking about the Kyuubi.

Tsunade sighed, "Look kid, I already know about the fox, you can tell me what happened." Naruto's eyes widened,

"R-really?" He looked up at the sannin. Tsunade nodded,

"Yeah, it's OK I don't see it the way most of the rest of Konoha does." She explained.

"Oh, well, I just got really angry... and kinda scared, and then it just came out. It was almost like it wasn't me fighting, but it was. My body did what I wanted to, but it did it on its own..." The boy tried to explain.

"I see, interesting. Well you certainly gave that Uchiha more than just a few bruises." Tsunade left out the part that he was dead for now, besides, she had been the one to kill him, not Naruto. Said boy just looked at the floor, "Oh cheer up, everyone's alive and well."

"It's not that." Naruto muttered.

"Then what?" Tsunade stood up straight.

"I don't want to talk about it." Naruto said.

"Well you're making me depressed. You're supposed to be a hyperactive brat dammit." Tsunade grabbed Naruto by the back of his jacket, which he had fallen asleep in, and lifted him off the floor as if he weighted nothing.

"H-hey! Put me down!" Naruto protested.

"Quiet, you'll wake up Sakura." Tsunade scolded.

". . ." Naruto just frowned, waiting to be put down.

"You're coming with me, and you're going to cheer up by the time we get back, got it?" Tsunade glared.

"B-but."

"Got... it...?" Tsunade repeated menacingly. Naruto nodded rapidly, if only out of fear, "Good." Tsunade smirked. She then turned around and walked out the door, carrying Naruto as if he was a newborn kitten.

- - -

"This isn't fun..." Naruto grumbled for the tenth time.

"Shut it, I'm focusing." Tsunade grumbled.

"On what? You're just pulling a lever over and over again." Naruto frowned. Tsunade had taken him to a casino. It. Was. Very. Boring. All he got to do was sit around and watch Tsunade lose over and over again while she complained.

"You don't know anything about this, so be quiet." Tsunade scolded.

"Can I at least try?" Naruto asked.

". . . ugh, fine." Tsunade sighed, slipping a coin into the slot machine, "Now just pull that lever." She pointed to the aforementioned lever. Naruto did as she asked and pulled the lever. The machine began to make tinkling sound as the picture covered wheels spun at ridiculous speeds. Eventually one stopped, then the second, then the third. All three had stopped on the same picture.

"Damn..." Tsunade muttered, _"How come he wins? And on his first try no less... not fair."_ Tsunade whined, but internally, preferring to keep what was left of her dignity.

"I win?" Naruto asked. His answer was the clatter of a few dozen coins falling out of the machine, "Cool!" He grinned, taking one, "Heheh, shiny..."

"Well, easily amused is better than bored and depressed I guess." Tsunade shook her head and sighed, "Hm, hey, wanna try again?" Might as well take advantage of his good luck while she could. . .

- - -

Sakura woke up and found herself alone and in a strange hotel. Fortunately she quickly remembered what had happened... or maybe not so fortunately since a good portion of that memory was bad. She had almost died. She tried to reassure herself by telling herself that she was safe now and Tsunade had taken care of the Uchiha... it didn't help much, the memory alone scared her.

However, Sakura had another problem, where was Naruto? She figured she would find sensei, or maybe Shizune or Tsunade knew... assuming they were there. She exited the room, heading to the room where she was pretty sure Mitsuru had been put. Upon reaching it she knocked.

"Come in." Judging by the fact that the voice was female, and polite, it was probably Shizune. This was confirmed when Sakrua entered the room, "Oh, hi Sakura-chan, what's up?" Shizune asked.

"Umm, I was wondering where Naruto went, he isn't in here is he?" Sakura asked. She noticed Mitsuru was asleep in the room's bed.

"Err, no, he was supposed to be in the same room as you." Shizune replied confusedly.

"He's not..."

"Is Tsunade?" Shizune asked, and Sakura shook her head. Shizune groaned, _"She wouldn't have... oh who am I kidding, she would."_

"Wh-what's wrong?" Sakura noticed the upset look on Shizune's face.

"I have a pretty good idea of where they are." She sighed, "Wait here, I'll be back soon."

- - -

"Damn you have good luck!" Tsunade laughed. Sure, she wasn't the one winning, but hell, it's not like Naruto was gonna be keeping their winnings. She could practically see her debt disintegrating.

"So do I get to keep any?" Naruto asked. So caught up in her gleeful thoughts, Tsunade answered poorly.

"Hell no, all mine." Tsunade waved him off.

"What!?" Naruto glared, "Hmph, then I'm not playing anymore."

"W-wait, I wasn't thinking, of course you can keep a little." Tsunade laughed nervously, _"Dammit, my luck sucks even when I'm not gambling!"_

"How much is a little?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

"Errr, one tenth?" Tsunade suggested.

"OK!" Naruto grinned, but then stopped, "Wait, how much is one tenth?" He blinked in confusion.

_"Hehe, I'll feel guilty later, but who cares!"_ Tsunade thought deviously, "Well, one tenth is-" However, before she could scam poor Naruto out of his winnings,

"Ahem." A voice spoke up.

_"Why do you hate me Kami?"_ Tsunade thought with a groan, "What is it Shizune?"

"Tsunade-sama, wh-what were you thinking, he's only like... ten!" Shizune scolded.

"Eleven." Naruto corrected.

"Whatever..." Shizune muttered.

"Oh come on, he was having fun, he was winning over two thirds of his pulls!" Tsunade explained.

"She was gonna give me one tenth." Naruto grinned.

"That's it?" Shizune said.

"W-wait, that isn't a lot?" Naruto looked confused.

"Well, judging by that pile... it might feed you for three days, that's it." Shizune said.

"Wow! That's a lot of ramen!" Naruto grinned.

_"He's a strange one..."_ Shizune and Tsunade thought at the same time.

"Wh-whatever." Shizune stuttered somewhat, "Look, I'm taking Naruto back to the hotel, you can stay here and lose everything he won, or you can cash it in and come back too." Shizune said.

"Fine." Tsunade said and put a coin into a machine... and lost. She sighed, _"Of course, only the kid can win..."_

- - -

It took an entire week for Mitsuru to recover, and during that time, both Naruto and Sakura spent a considerable amount of time with Tsunade and Shizune respectively. Tsunade seemed to have taken a liking to the lucky blond, and when Naruto was busy following the sannin around, Sakura would talk with Shizune. However, Tsunade had spent enough time with Sakura to notice that the girl had lots of potential. She was also reminded of herself ever so slightly. She wanted to make sure Mitsuru was fully aware of Sakura's potential.

"So, you think you can walk farther than the bathroom now?" Tsunade asked Mitsuru. Currently if was just them in Mitsuru's room, and Shizune was watching Naruto and Sakura. Mitsuru was sitting on his bed.

"Not funny..." Mitsuru grumbled, "And yes, I can, I'm good as new."

"Not exactly, if anything, you're worse than when we met after I smashed that wall." Tsunade said.

"Yeah, I used some big jutsu, probably why..." Mitsuru sighed, looking a bit troubled, "I hate this, there are other, normal ninja who could have done that and just ended up a little tired, but no, my network is so screwed up, straining it even a little damages it!" He growled angrily.

"Hey, don't yell at me, it's not my fault." Tsunade scowled.

"Yeah yeah, I know, it's just... frustrating." Mitsuru sighed, _"I only used big jutsu three times and I damaged my chakra network, it's not much worse, but at this point I can't afford to get any worse..."_

"There's something else I want to talk about." Tsunade said.

"Yeah?" Mitsuru looked at her expectantly.

"It's about Sakura, you do realize that you have a little gem there don't you?" Tsunade asked.

"Hm, how so?" Mitsuru asked.

"She has more potential in her than I've seen in almost anyone I've ever met, except maybe Naruto and a scarce few others." Tsunade explained.

"She _is _pretty smart." Mitsuru chuckled.

"More than that, I can tell just by looking at her she should have excellent chakra control, she just needs training so she actually has enough chakra to work with, and so she can do something with that chakra." Tsunade told Mitsuru.

"I noticed that too, I suppose I was paying more attention to Naruto though, I'll have to work with her more I guess." Mitsuru said.

Tsunade sighed, "You _guess_? If you're going to take responsibility for that girl, then you better work with her a lot! Most sensei deal with three students, you have two, and last I checked you had a big ass arsenal of jutsu and skills to teach, so get teaching!" Tsunade glared disapprovingly.

"It's not that easy!" Mitsuru argued, "Why don't _you _teach her something if you think she has so much damn potential! I have to constantly plan out where the hell I am going to hide them next, amongst other things, I can't just teach them both a bunch of jutsu!"

Tsunade suddenly chuckled, "You're that scared are you?"

"Wh-, scared?" Mitsuru looked at her, annoyance clear on his face, "I am _not_ scared."

"Not for yourself, but you are worried about them so much, especially Naruto, that you can't think straight can you? And now after having your ass handed to you, you're terrified you'll fail!" Tsunade accused.

"I-I... uh..." Mitsuru blinked, thrown off balance by her words, _"Sh-she's right... I'm afraid... I'm pathetic..."_

"Oh come on, don't break down on me now." Tsunade growled, "Look, I have an idea, but you're not going to like it, and Naruto and Sakura are going to hate it."

"Wh-what?" Mitsuru asked, attempting to regain his composure.

"Leave Sakura with me." Tsunade didn't bother mincing words. Mitsuru nearly choked in surprised,

"What?!" He looked at her disbelievingly.

"Just for about a year or so, it'll allow you to focus on Naruto and prepare him for the future, and I suppose I can train Sakura as well." Tsunade explained.

"But... why? You abandoned Konoha, and the only reason you're talking to me is because we just happened to bump into each other again, we're not exactly good friends, are we?" Mitsuru was confused.

Tsunade frowned at his mentioning of Konoha, "No, we are not good friends, but I believe in what you are trying to accomplish, and I am willing to help. Besides, I like the kids more than I like your pathetic ass."

"I'll have you know I have a very nice ass thank-you-very-much." Mitsuru crossed his arms and squinted in annoyance, "But if we can get the two to agree, I suppose it might be a good idea."

"Well, I assume Sakura would want to help Naruto right?" Tsunade asked.

"Yeah, it's part of the reason she came in the first place... I think, that or she was just scared, maybe a bit of both, I'm not sure." He shrugged, "But yeah, they're pretty close at this point."

"Good, then it's settled, Sakura becomes my temporary apprentice, and we'll meet up again in about a year so you can have her back." Tsunade nodded.

"Well, we have to make them agree first..." Mitsuru reminded.

"Are you kidding? I can just drag Sakura of easily." Tsunade scoffed. Mitsuru sighed,

"Thank Kami you never had children." He shook his head.

- - -

The five of them were grouped together in Tsunade and Shizune's room, and it was just about time to shatter Naruto and Sakura's world.

"Naruto, Sakura." Mitsuru said, "Good, you're both sitting down."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"Well, I was talking with Tsunade, and after a while we came up with a plan, but-" Mitsuru was doing his best to soften the blow, but...

"Sakura's staying with me and Shizune." Tsunade cut to the chase.

"WHAT?!?!" Naruto shouted, "Why? Is it because I stole some of the money I won but you kept from the coin machine place to buy ramen!?"

"No, it's bec- YOU WHAT?!" Tsunade roared.

"Calm down, he was the one who won it, but that's not the point." Mitsuru interjected before Tsunade tried to kill Naruto.

"Right..." Tsunade muttered, glaring at Naruto.

"B-but I wanna stay with Naruto." Sakura whimpered, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.

"I know, but... I just can't take care of both of you right now, so for now I want you to stay with Tsunade, you'll be safer and she's offered to teach you some of what she knows." Mitsuru explained.

"We can take care of ourselves!" Naruto argued.

"I-I know, but you're still young and inexperienced, if it wasn't for Tsunade the Uchihas would have killed us and taken you." Mitsuru told Naruto.

"B-but..." Naruto tried to think of what he could say.

"It's not like it's permanent." Tsunade muttered.

"How long then?" Sakura asked, sniffling.

"About a year." Mitsuru said.

"That's like... forever!" Naruto argued.

"You've been with me for over three years, you'll survive one more even if you don't see each other." Mitsuru said.

"I don't wanna!" Naruto shouted.

"M-me neither!" Sakura agreed.

"Will you two stop whining!" Tsunade growled, "It's for the best, and you'll see each other again later, if you can't handle something like this than you have no hope as ninja! Grow up dammit!" The sannin's harsh words stunned the two children.

"T-Tsunade-sama... wasn't that a bit harsh?" Shizune gulped.

"No." Tsunade crossed her arms.

"Naruto, Sakura?" Mitsuru asked, seeing if they'd changed their minds after that.

"Is... is it really better this way?" Sakura sniffled.

"Well, kinda, I need to focus on Naruto's training, and... I don't know, I'm just not at one-hundred percent after that last battle, I can't take care of both of you as well as I should be able to." Mitsuru sighed.

"But..." Naruto still didn't like it.

"I'll do it." Sakura hung her head, hating it, but if it was for the best...

"S-Sakura?" Naruto said.

"You heard them, it's better this way... I'll see you again though, right?" Sakura managed a weak smile.

"B-but I'll miss you." Naruto sagged.

"Me too." Sakura replied.

"It's settled then, we'll be separating tomorrow." Tsunade said.

"Wait, we will?" Mitsuru asked.

"I'm done with this town." Tsunade replied.

"Right then..." Mitsuru sighed, "Hey, why don't you two hang out the rest of the day, make the most of the time you got left." He suggested. Sakura nodded and grabbed Naruto's hand,

"Come on!" She dragged him out of the room.

"You know, they make a cute couple." Tsunade commented.

"Yeah, and I have to sit around watching them and being jealous that I never got to be stuck with a girl I liked for three years." Mitsuru grumbled.

"Well, then you should be glad we're splitting them up for a year." Tsunade shrugged.

"Are you kidding me? Now I have to listen to Naruto whine for the next month..." Mitsuru slumped over, "I hate my life."

"You really are pathetic..." Tsunade shook her head.

- - -

"There's no stars out tonight..." Naruto muttered sadly.

"There must be clouds or something." Sakura replied. The two had used the tree climbing technique they had learned to get to a rooftop, where they now sat next to each other.

"I don't see any." Naruto said.

"Silly, you can't actually see the clouds at night." Sakura couldn't help but smile. He was a bit of a moron sometimes, but it was funny.

"Oh." The blond boy chuckled slightly, "How did you know that?"

"My mom told me a long time ago." She said, feeling a little homesick at the mention of her mom.

"You're lucky..." Naruto mumbled, "I didn't have a mom to teach me stuff."

"I could teach you the things my mom taught me." Sakura offered.

"Really?" Naruto looked at her.

"Of course. You just have to ask." Sakura nodded. Naruto nodded back, though he knew that the offer didn't mean much at the moment. They wouldn't be seeing each other again for a whole year, "Y-you think everything will be OK? What if something happens before we can meet agai-" Naruto silenced her by putting his hand over her mouth.

"Sensei said we should be making the best of the time we have left." He smiled slightly, "You're ruining the moment." He copied what Mitsuru had said before. This made Sakura smile slightly as he lowered his hand. But suddenly both of them couldn't help but feel sad, staring back up at the dark sky, "You know... it's not very pretty but maybe it means something." Naruto said as he stared up.

"L-like what?" Sakura asked.

"Well, there's nothing up there really. Maybe it means nothing will happen." Naruto explained.

"That's just stupid." Sakura muttered, looking away.

"Hey! It's better than nothing." Naruto scowled.

"I don't want to go anyway! Why can't we just stay together!" Sakura hugged herself, trying not to openly cry.

"You're the one who agreed to it first." Naruto said, "Besides, Tsunade can teach you cool stuff right?"

"I don't care!" Sakura whined loudly.

"Sakura... are you... crying?" Naruto asked. Sakura had been looking away, so he couldn't really tell. That and it was dark with only a few lamps down in the street for illumination. Sakura looked at him, and even in the dark, it was obvious she was crying now. She suddenly hugged him tightly,

"I take it back! I don't wanna go!" She sobbed. Naruto's eyes were wide, he hadn't expected it, and he had no idea what to do. What he did know... was that his jacket was getting wet.

"Uhhh... S-Sakura?" He stuttered, "Er, I'm sorry?" Sakura just pulled away a few second later staring at the roof they sat on,

"Don't apologize... you're right..." She muttered quietly. She didn't know why, but she was upset over his reaction to her... or his lack thereof. Though she wasn't sure what she'd expected.

"I am?" Naruto asked, confused.

"I did agree... Mitsuru's not feeling well or something, I can't stay." She sniffled.

"B-but it's not permanent, remember?" Naruto reminded her quickly. Sakura nodded,

"Yeah..." She sighed loudly, "I'm tired, I'm going to bed." She got up and started to climb back down to their room. Naruto remained though, staring at the dark sky until he decided that it wasn't planning on changing anytime soon. He thought about what he'd said to try and make Sakura feel better. It _was _stupid... they were just clouds. However, he wasn't going to admit that he was wrong, that would be admitting he might never see Sakura again.

- - -

It was time, in about five minutes, maybe less, Naruto and Sakura wouldn't see each other again for an entire year.

"This is it kids." Mitsuru said.

"Hurry up, I wanna get moving." Tsunade grumbled. She had a hangover...

"You have no compassion..." Mitsuru sighed.

"I have no hangover meds is what I don't have." The sannin muttered and crossed her arms.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Sakura were saying goodbye.

"Well, uhh..." Naruto had no idea what he should say.

"It'll be fine, just think of me every day, and I'll do the same OK? It won't be so bad." Sakura tried to be cheerful.

"R-right, I will." Naruto nodded, "Just try to avoid Tsunade when she starts drinking from those little white bottles, she gets grumpy."

"Why?" Sakura looked confused.

"Sensei said that the bottles have sake and sake makes people stupid." Naruto explained.

"WHAT?!" Tsunade shouted.

"Don't interrupt them." Mitsuru scowled.

"See?" Naruto said.

"R-right..." Sakura gulped, suddenly a bit scared, "Well, bye Naruto."

"Bye Sakura." Naruto said.

"Good, you're done, let's get going." Tsunade said and turned to start the trip to another town, and Shizune followed. Sakura looked after them, but her legs didn't want to move.

"I-I don't wanna..." She whimpered. Naruto took a deep breath, not sure he wanted to say what he was about to, but he would,

"It's OK Sakura, you said it would be right? Go, and when we meet again I want you to show me all the cool things she teaches you!" He grinned. Sakura couldn't resist the grin, and suddenly she found her legs were working again.

"R-right, I will... b-bye!" She said and ran to catch up to Tsunade and Shizune... with Naruto watching the entire time, until she went around a corner.

"It'll be OK kid, it'll be OK, come on, we have our own destination." Mitsuru put a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Right... but now you have to teach me cool things so I can show off to Sakura!" Naruto replied.

"Oh, don't worry, I got something that'll impress her... a few somethings in fact."

* * *

**Shazzam!**

**I could tell you all kinds of other reasons this took so long... but I don't gotta explain myself to you! Just enjoy the damn story. And leave me a review if you're feeling nice.**

**Translations:**

**Doton: Arashi Fungeki = Earth Style: Tempest Fury (I don't care if it don't make sense...)**

**Doton: Hebi Shikon = Earth Style: Snake Fangs**

**Ushi = Cow (which is why the **_**bull**_** was pissed off)**


	12. With Help From Friends

**WARNING! If you hate bratty, angsty, annoying Uchiha's... this IS the chapter for you! It's gonna mostly be about everyones favorite Uchiha prodigy! No, not Itachi, Sasuke! Oh wait... nobody actually likes Sasuke. Well, regardless, it's about him. And no, it doesn't involve him getting his ass kicked... or, well, maybe it does. Whatever! Just read! (and review)(and read the note from me at the very bottom please)  
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**Warning#2: The following chapter is rather long in comparison to previous chapters. You might want to make sure you have an hour or so to spare.**

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* * *

  
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**With Help From Friends**

"Oh... my... god..." Ino's eye twitched wildly, "What is _that!?_"

"What is what?" Lee asked.

"That awful green _thing_ that you're wearing!" Ino pointed at Lee, and more precisely the horrific green jumpsuit he was wearing, "And your hair, it's a bowl cut now! What have you done! You'll never attract girls looking like that!" Ino ranted in dismay.

"I... but... Gai-sensei..." Lee stuttered, confused. Was Ino right? Or was his sensei right? The jumpsuit was supposed to be the conduit to achieving greater youthfulness!

Ino sighed and put an exasperated hand on her forehead, "Ugh, whatever! Look, I just wanted to tell you that I'm having my genin exam today." She explained.

"YOSH! You will become a true ninja like me, I have no doubt, you are very youthful! You even beat Sasuke right?" Lee asked.

"Heh, yeah, that was awesome." Ino remembered the third student of the year contest fondly. Once more Mia had been pissed that she had lost out, and this time, Sasuke had been decimated. Ino still couldn't match him at hitting targets, but she had managed to outdo him with the academy jutsu, though it had been a close call, and then she had left him in the dust at running laps... literally. Lee's training had payed off big time there. She had lapped the Uchiha so badly she was sure Sasuke's head must have been spinning when it was over. She hadn't even been too tired afterward.

"Well good luck! Let youth guide you!" Lee saluted.

"Right, youth, got it." Ino gave a lazy salute in return just to humor then boy and headed off, _"I swear, I will not be surprised if he starts a religion about youth..."_

- - -

"Yamanaka Ino." Mizuki, another of the Chuunin teachers said, "Hmm, excellent grades and student of the year twice, I don't see why she should even have to do the test, just pass her."

"Rules state that _every _student must do the test, don't get lazy." Iruka scowled, "This should be a piece of cake Ino, just make three bunshin and I'll give you your headband."

"No problem!" Ino grinned and made the hand seal... less than a minute later she was putting her headband on.

Once those who were going to pass did, everyone was assembled before Iruka and Mizuki,

"You in this room are those who passed, and I am proud to see that, well, all of you did." Iruka said.

"Come back tomorrow and your teams will be announced." Mizuki added.

"Now go, your parents should be waiting outside to congratulate you." Iruka said, and the class rushed to do so.

- - -

Outside, Ino saw her father,

"Hey, what is that thing on your forehead, are you supposed to have that?" Inoichi asked as he walked over to his daughter.

"Duh, I passed obviously!" Ino put her hands on her hips and posed proudly.

"Don't let it all go to your head or it'll explode." Her father chuckled, "So, when do you get your team, tomorrow right?"

"Yeah! I hope I get Hinata on mine." Ino answered.

"Hm, that's highly unlikely." Inoichi sighed, "It's rare for more than one kunoichi to be placed on a single team."

"Wh-why?" Ino asked, suddenly not so happy.

"It's just how things work, two men to handle the hard stuff, and a girl to handle the... other things, though I'm not saying you can't be just as strong as a man, just that there are certain things women can do that men can't." Inoichi hastily explained, trying not to sound like a complete chauvinist.

"Well it's not fair." Ino pouted, crossing her arms.

"Oh come on, cheer up, it's not like you'll never see her again, it'll be fine." Her father tried to cheer her up, failing.

"I wanna go home..." Ino muttered.

"But you just made Genin! Don't you want to celebrate? Go see if you can get Hinata to go along, knowing her father I doubt they'll be throwing a party." Inoichi rolled his eyes.

"Fine." Ino said and ran to find Hinata. Maybe the day could still be salvaged.

- - -

Indeed the day had been salvaged, she had even asked if Hinata's father Hiashi wanted to come... he had said no, not that Ino really cared, the man was more boring than waiting for paint to dry while watching grass grow in her opinion. However, it was now the day after, and Ino was anxiously awaiting her team.

_"As long as it isn't Sasuke, Mia, Chip Boy, or that lazy loser Shikamaru, I don't think I'll mind." _Ino said. She just wanted to know, and then she and her team would become legendary ninja even more renown than the Sannin themselves! So far a only few teams had been chosen.

"The next team will be Team Seven," Iruka said, "It will be Sasuke Uchiha..."

_"Oh Kami, don't pick me, not me not me!" _Ino pleaded in her mind.

"... Kusabana Emi, and Tsuchi Saburo!" Iruka finished.

_"YES! I wasn't picked! Ha, and Sasuke got stuck with that loser Emi! Gah! Don't be mean, Sakura used to be pathetic too... and Hinata... ugh, I feel like such a hypocrite..."_ Ino thought.

"Team Eight will be Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba." Iruka announced.

_"Aww, I guess tou-san was right..." _Ino thought as Hinata was placed on another team, _"Well, Kiba's a bit... energetic and rough and Shino's creepy, but I don't think they'll be mean to her or anything..."_ In her thoughts she missed the announcement of Team Nine, only catching that Mia was in it.

"Team Ten will be Yamanaka Ino..."

_"Ah! This is it! Please oh pleeease be good!"_ Ino prayed.

"... Akamichi Chouji, and Nara Shikamaru." Iruka called out her teammates.

_"NOOOO!"_ Ino's head thudded down on her desk.

- - -

It had been five days since teams were announced, and Sasuke wanted to kill himself. Emi, and small girl with short black hair and green eyes, was quite possibly the most useless, pathetic person on the face of the planet. He actually would have preferred Ino.

_"At least Ino is actually skilled..." _Sasuke thought. Saburo, about Sasuke's size messy brown hair and brown eyes, wasn't so bad, although he was extremely arrogant and was constantly bragging about how awesome his sword was. In Sasuke's opinion, it wasn't that great. His brother's sword was cooler, and longer. Not to mention Itachi didn't constantly go around decapitating flowers with his... Saburo did. It was now a daily ritual to pray that the boy cut off his own foot or something equally painful. OK so Saburo was that bad. And to top it off, their sensei was always, without fail, late.

Hatake Kakashi, a man with a mask and his forehead protector over one eye. He had given them an annoying bell test. It was probably the one time Emi had done anything of note. Though that thing certainly wasn't amazing. She had distracted Kakashi by tripping over her own feet. Sasuke and Saburo had then swooped in and attempted to nab the bells, and failed. Kakashi had pinned Emi down with his foot, and at the last second, Saburo had decided to play hero and instead of helping Sasuke grab a bell, he had tried to free Emi, only to receive a foot to his face. Sasuke had hoped to grab the bells then, but Kakashi was just too fast.

In the end, Kakashi had tied Emi to a post and told them that due to her getting in the way of the mission by tripping, she would not be allowed to eat, and in an hour they could try again. Sasuke had almost killed Saburo when he tried to feed her. He was glad he didn't as that action caused them to pass. According to Kakashi, "Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their friends are worse than trash." It definitely gave Sasuke something to think about.

At the moment, they were receiving another mission. So far they had all been D-Ranks which were little more than chores that he hadn't done since he was six. Even then he hadn't had to do much, a privilege of being in the Uchiha clan.

_"That's it, I am gonna ask for something better than a D-Rank!"_ Sasuke decided. The team walked into the Hokage tower, and then up to the room that gave away missions. The Hokage began to list off a few boring D-Rank missions, but the Sasuke interrupted,

"Can't we have something better than these _chores_?" Sasuke asked, "It's... demeaning."

"You think so?" The Sandaime replied before Kakashi could say anything, "Well let me tell you about how missions work." The Sandaime launched into a boring lecture about mission income and mission ranks that nobody, except maybe Emi, payed any attention to.

"So can we have a C-Rank then? You said genin can do those right?" Sasuke asked. That was probably the one thing he had actually remembered from the lecture.

"I don't know, your team is still inexperienced." The Hokage stroked his beard.

"But I'm an Uchiha! And we'll have Kakashi-sensei, we can handle it easy!" Sasuke crossed his arms.

"I agree with the jerk." Saburo spoke up.

"Shut up loser." Sasuke glared at his teammate.

"Hey! I'm not a loser! I have a _sword._" Saburo glared back.

"Fine!" The Sandaime interrupted them, "You can have a C-Rank, it will be an escort mission."

"A wealthy and beautiful noblewoman from a foreign country!?" Saburo asked excitedly.

"No, Tazuna come in." The Sandaime said, and in walked what was the exact opposite of what Saburo had described. A scruffy old man in a straw kasa... he looked drunk. In fact he had a bottle of sake in his hand,

"What... hey, _they_ aren't my escort are they? Three of them are kids dammit!" Tazuna scowled and glared at them.

"Hey! I'm an Uchiha! I'm better than anyone else my rank." Sasuke crossed his arms,

"You got beaten by a girl." Saburo smirked, barely holding in his laughter, "Twice."

Sasuke twitched and then glared at him, "You know what? Go shove that sword up your-"

"Guys, guys, calm down!" Kakashi stopped them, "You're giving a bad first impression..."

"It was a bad impression the second I saw them." Tazuna muttered and took a gulp from the bottle of booze in his hand.

"Right, well, this is who your team will be escorting Kakashi, you can meet him at the gate after you and your students have packed, you will be escorting him to the Land of Waves." The Hokage explained.

"I see, well, you heard the man, go pack some bags for a trip." Kakashi said to Sasuke, Saburo, and Emi, "Well, we'll be on our way then Hokage-sama."

"Good luck," The Hokage nodded.

_"I'll need it with this team..."_ Kakashi sighed.

- - -

Team 7 and escort met up again at the main gates.

"Alright, last chance, are you all ready?" Kakashi asked. The three genin all nodded, "Good, alright Tazuna-san, we're ready."

"About time..." Tazuna grumbled, "A bunch of kids, I can't believe this shit."

Kakashi chuckled nervously, "They were all trained well enough to pass their exams so they are all fully fledged ninja, and I'm a Jounin so I'm sure everything will be fine." He tried to placate the man.

"Bunch of bull if you ask me..." Tazuna muttered, "Fine, sure, whatever, let's just get moving." He said.

"Right, come on guys." Kakashi began to walk towards the open gate.

"I wanted a wealthy, beautiful noblewoman, but nooo..." Saburo muttered.

"Saburo, shut up." Sasuke glared.

"Are you saying you prefer a cranky old drunk?!" Saburo retorted.

"Saburo, show some respect." Kakashi glanced back at the boy.

"But he-" Saburo tried to argue.

"Is the client, so keep it to yourself." Kakashi finished scolding and looked back ahead. The five were now outside of the gate.

"Stupid kids..." Tazuna muttered.

It was not going to be a pleasant trip, ten feet out and everyone was miserable.

- - -

"I thought you were gonna help me impress Sakura!" Naruto argued, "You haven't shown me any cool jutsu yet!" The boy was on the verge of puberty, but not quite there yet, so his clothes still fit him. Even that awful orange jacket, at least it matched his orange pants... and shirt... The kid was a damned target, but he just wouldn't wear anything else. He might as well wear a sign saying, 'aim here.' On the bright side, at least it looked OK on him, with the bright blond hair and blue eyes, he was probably the only one who could look good in it.

"You want a cool jutsu? Well fine, you're old enough now, and I _did _promise, so alright, I'll teach you one of my best." Mitsuru said.

"R-really!? Your best!?" Naruto's eyes shone with excitement.

"Not _the_ best, but close. You've already seen it too." Mitsuru explained.

"The snake mouth?" Naruto guessed.

"Way off." Mitsuru replied.

"Ummm... wait, I'm wind right? My element?" Naruto asked.

"Yep."

"So... a wind jutsu!?" Naruto asked.

"Bingo." Mitsuru gave a thumbs up.

"So... wait... the only wind jutsu I've seen you use wasn't that great." Naruto frowned, "It's only good for trapping people! It's useless unless I have something to use it with!" He argued.

"Wrong _and_ right. I didn't use it at full power because I didn't want to risk that Uchiha escaping before I could use it as a finisher, it can kill, but not quickly. However, yes, it is a very good jutsu for combos." He explained.

"Oh... OK." Naruto chuckled nervously, "So teach me!"

"Right, well first, an example, watch closely." Mitsuru said, and made the hand seals, but slowly so Naruto could see, "Fuuton: Arashi Fungeki!" Mitsuru shouted, and a strong wind began blowing, he then directed the wind to a certain area, and then to a specific tree which began to get torn apart, and the rate at which the damage was done increased until the tree was little more than sawdust and a few chunks of wood with shredded leaves sprinkled on top.

"Awesome..." Naruto stared at the wrecked tree.

"Your turn, remember the seals?" Mitsuru asked.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah!" He went through the same seals, and then attempted the jutsu. However, instead of starting a gale, he ended up launching a huge gust of wind. Instead of tearing something apart, it instead just caused a few trees to lean back under the pressure, and then it was over.

"Right, well that's a start, but you have to control and maintain it or it will just go away. Sure that might knock someone off their feet, but that's not gonna do you much against a skilled opponent." Mitsuru said, "Try again, but this time, focus on controlling it, try directing it with your hands, it'll make it simpler."

Naruto nodded, "R-right!" He went through the seals again, and then held his arms out, palms facing forward. The wind kicked up again, but this time it kept blowing and swirling in the area... until there were two tornadoes before Naruto.

Mitsuru twitched, _"He ended up making two separate tornadoes... one for each hand... how does he do this shit?"_ He shook his head, "Err, try uh, bringing them together."

Naruto didn't answer, focusing on the wind he was barely keeping controlled, he moved his arms so his two hands were side by side, and the two tornado's collided, and then combined to become one huge twister. Barely keeping control he managed to speak,

"H-how is that?" He asked, voice strained.

"Not bad, you could mess someone up if you caught them between two tornado's like that." Mitsuru said, _"Even if it's not really how you're supposed to do the jutsu, then again, it's really just supposed to be a wind jutsu allowing you to mold a gale to your will... so I guess this is just how he does it."_

Naruto ended the jutsu, unable to concentrate on it and talk at the same time, "Really? I did good?"

"Yep, nice work, but you'll need to learn better control, you should be able to start the wind blowing, and then make it focus on one point, if you do it your way, they might be able to avoid the tornado's before they get close enough to trap them." Mitsuru explained.

"Ohh, I get it!" Naruto started making hand seals again.

"Hm?" Mitsuru raised an eyebrow.

Naruto did exactly what he did before, except this time, he quickly pointed his hands at a tree, and a tornado formed right around the tree, ripping it apart.

_"Ah, I get it, the first time he just focused so hard on his hands, all the wind got focused to two points before him, but this time he chose a target... but that means he can't actually keep the gale blowing..."_ He sighed, _"He _really_ needs better control..."_

"Right, well, looks like you can use it effectively, even if not perfectly...." Mitsuru said, "Hmm, hey, keep practicing with it, see if you can maintain it _without_ making a tornado form, I'm gonna go do something real quick... or maybe not so quick, we'll see."

"OK, I'll keep going then!" Naruto grinned.

"Right, uh, just wait until I am at a safe distance..."

- - -

"Hmm, a puddle, yeah, it just stopped raining... a week ago... what?" Saburo crouched before a puddle.

"Saburo... it's a puddle, leave it alone." Sasuke sighed.

"Y-yeah, you'll get left behind..." Emi warned timidly.

"Yeah right, I can run fast enough to catch up." Saburo waved her off.

"B-but..."

"I'll be fine, jeez, stop worrying so much." Saburo sighed.

"Come on Emi, leave him to his stupid puddle." Sasuke shook his head and turned to follow Kakashi and Tazuna.

Emi looked at Sasuke, then back at Saburo, and so on until finally deciding to follow Sasuke.

"Hmph, I remember that rain, I ate ramen." Saburo stroked his chin, "A week old puddle? Maybe someone spilled something? Weird... eh, I guess it _is _just a puddle, oh well." He got up and shrugged.

"Saburo! Hurry up before you get left behind!" Kakashi called out, "Now!"

"Alright alright! I'm coming!" Saburo ran after the group, _"Sheesh, he doesn't have to get all strict..."_

However, he didn't notice as a head rose from the puddle, _"Damn, a little longer and I could have ripped his head off and no one would have noticed..."_

- - -

"So Emi, how did you pass the test to be a genin?" Saburo asked.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Emi replied.

"Well your grades sucked..." Saburo said.

"I-it wasn't that hard." Emi looked at the ground and sighed softly, _"Even now I am still insulted..."_

"True, yeah, I guess anyone could have passed that." Saburo stroked his chin, "They should have made it harder."

"D-did you want me to fail?" Emi asked nervously.

"Well if it was harder only people truly qualified would be able to be ninja." Saburo explained.

"Yeah, then I wouldn't have _you _on my team." Sasuke smirked at Saburo, _"Or that loser Emi..."_

"Sh-shut up you jackass, you got your ass handed to you by a girl!" Saburo argued.

"Yeah, well, one of the legendary Sannin is a woman, right sensei?" Sasuke asked Kakashi.

"Rig-" Kakashi was then promptly tied up and shredded by razor sharp chains.

"SENSEIIII!" Emi shrieked in horror, _"NO! NO! THIS ISN'T HAPPENING! No, Kami, no!!!"_

Two heavily armed shinobi then made their presence known, their most notable features were their metal masks and clawed gauntlets.

_"Wh-what... sensei...."_ Sasuke was frozen in shock, _"What am I doing, I'm an Uchiha! This is my chance to... to what!? They just shredded a jouinin like it was nothing, I'm screwed... brother... why didn't you prepare me for something like this, what do I do!?"_

The two shinobi then charged forward, ready to kill...

_"Th-this is it... my first mission... and I'm going to die... die... I... I don't want to die..."_ Saburo thought as the shinobi grew closer and closer, "I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" He shouted once they were within only a few feet of him. The one closest to him raised his gauntlet-covered hand to smash him out of the way, but was forced to instead hop back to avoid being gutted by Saburo's sword.

With a mad scream, Saburo charged at the shinobi, wildly slashing and chopping in an attempt to kill him, but all of them missed. Soon however, his sword was easily knocked out of his hands, but it didn't stop him, he jumped at the man, biting, clawing, kicking and punching in an attempt to hurt him in any way he could.

_"What in the hell is up with this little psycho!?"_ The shinobi thought as he shoved Saburo away. He wasn't thinking for long though as suddenly his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed. The other shinobi was in a similar state.

"Wh-what, what are you sleeping for!" Saburo shouted at the unconscious man.

"Saburo, calm down, I knocked him out." A familiar voice said.

"Wha? Who!?" Saburo's eyes widened when he finally noticed Kakashi standing before him, "B-but... you d-died..."

"I used kawarimi, I'm a jounin, it wasn't that hard to avoid the attack, look." He pointed at where his shredded remains were supposed to be. Instead of gore, there were sliced up tree branches.

"R-right... kawarimi..." Saburo stared at the logs, not looking entirely there.

"S-sensei... i-is he OK?" Emi eventually asked, once she had managed to calm down slightly.

"I think he is just a bit shocked, hopefully he'll snap out of it soon, if not, well, not everyone is mentally able to handle the life of a ninja." Kakashi sighed, "More importantly, are the rest of you OK?" He got a nod from Emi and Sasuke.

"Hmph, I knew a bunch of kids couldn't be a good escort." Tazuna grumbled, "The insane one is only one who actually did anything, and now he looks like he's completely out of it!"

"Hm, well, actually, there is a reason they weren't ready for this." Kakashi said.

"Oh really?" Tazuna replied.

"Yes, these two men are chuunin from Kirigakure." Kakashi explained, "Meaning this is now officially at least a B-Rank mission. Not only that, but they were after you, why?"

"Ugh, my village is poor, or I would have payed for a B-Rank, or maybe an A-rank, though that might be a bit excessive. Never hurts to be careful though." Tazuna began.

"And?" Kakashi asked, starting to get annoyed, _"What would make him think he would need an A-Rank?"_

"I'm a bridge builder, as you know, and as you should also know, we're an island nation. We want to be connected to the mainland, that way we can trade more freely and improve our economy. Obviously not everyone likes that idea." He gestured to the unconscious Kiri-nin

- - -

A while later, they were in a boat, and Tazuna had finished explaining.

"So, that rich guy Gatou wants to keep you form building the bridge so he can keep extorting everyone. Makes sense I guess." Sasuke muttered.

"Yeah." Tazuna nodded in confirmation.

"But if you're already poor, how can he keep extorting money? It sounds like you don't have any left to give." Saburo asked. He had started to calm down. Perhaps the boat ride was having a calming effect.

"It's not just us. He controls the trading ships. He keeps most of the trade profits, and we get what little he is willing to give up, which is definitely not enough." Tazuna sighed, but then looked the the side, "Well, there it is if you were curious anyway, the bridge, or what's been done so far anyway."

Everyone looked up to see the huge construct, looming out of the mist like a multi-legged behemoth. They could only imagine what it would be like when completed.

"It's at least as tall as the village walls." Emi stared.

"Not quite, but pretty close." Kakashi nodded.

"Yeah, it's big, and I don't want the effort put into building it ruined." Tazuna grumbled, the thought of the project being canceled, or worse, the bridge being destroyed angered him, "I know that this was an escort and all, but, I don't suppose you'd stick around and make sure we can finish the bridge, it would be a waste if you went through all this trouble just to have all of use builders get killed and the bridge left incomplete."

"I don't know, the mission parameters didn't cover enemy ninja." Kakashi said.

"Well, yeah, I guess you weren't paid for this, and I wouldn't want your genin to be hurt. Oh well, I'm sure we'll be fine, and if not, my sweet little grandson will just cry for a while... and my daughter will despise Konoha, but it's OK, it's not really your fault that we're poor." Tazuna said... laying it on nice and thick

"Wow... that was pathetic." Saburo twitched.

"Hey, it's not like I made it up." Tazuna replied, crossing his arms, "I really do have a grandson and daughter... who would be sad if I died."

"Well guys?" Kakashi asked.

"Hmph, this Gatou guy sounds like just a fat thug, and you handled those ninja like they were nothing, shouldn't be too hard to just guard Tazuna-san for a while right?" Sasuke shrugged.

"Yeah, I'm not going home with my tail between my legs!" Saburo nodded.

"Y-you were the only one who fought Saburo, me and Sasuke were the ones who did nothing." Emi reminded.

"Hey! I would have fought too, but Kakashi stopped them before I had a chance!" Sasuke argued.

"Of course... I-I believe you Sasuke." Emi smiled slightly.

"That had better not be sarcasm." Sasuke glared.

"No..." Emi shook her head. She hadn't intended sarcasm. However, she also wasn't sure if she really did believe him.

- - -

They exited the boat, and continued on. They were close now, only a short distance through the outlying forest and they would be in the town. Well, that and after they,

"DUCK!" Kakashi shouted, quickly getting low to the ground. Sasuke and Saburo quickly followed suit, and Emi managed the pull Tazuna, who didn't have the reaction time of a ninja, down as well. The warning was a good one, as soon after, a huge sword passed overhead. When they looked up again, the sword had embedded itself into a tree, and a large muscled man with cloth wrappings covering his mouth was standing on the hilt. Yeah, it was so big, a man could stand on the hilt.

"I want one..." Saburo stared.

"Not... the time..." Sasuke gritted his teeth nervously.

"Hm, Momochi Zabuza." Kakashi muttered.

"You recognize me, I'm flattered, copy-cat ninja Hatake Kakashi." The man, Zabuza, replied gruffly.

"Who is he? Just another of Gatou's thugs?" Sasuke asked.

"What? Are you kidding, look at his freakin' sword, he's not just a thug!" Saburo shouted.

"The boys right, I'm not just a thug, but I suppose there's no point in keeping it a secret, yeah, I work for that fat bastard, but he pays well." Zabuza jumped down, ripping his sword out of the tree while he was at it.

"He's dangerous, I want all of you to stay back, guard Tazuna, I'll deal with him." Kakashi said, "And to make it clear, he's a member, or at least former member, of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist, you don't stand a chance."

"Whoa..." Saburo's eyes went wide, he recognized the name of that group.

"What, you know of them?" Sasuke asked his teammate.

"Yeah... I'm a sword user, of course I would have heard of them. They're a group of jounin who are master swordsmen. It's not like they're the best ninja in the world, but they come pretty close." Saburo gulped nervously, "Better than us, that's for sure."

Better indeed. Kakashi, who had made two Chuunin look like two-bit academy students, was having difficulty fighting Zabuza. Even though he had revealed why he had been called the copy-ninja. He had a sharingan in his left eye. And then, just when it seemed Kakashi had gained the upper hand, he got trapped in a prison of steel-hard water.

"RUN!" Kakashi shouted, voice just barely reaching the ears of the genin through the water. However, Zabuza had a water clone that was ready to kill them, how could they run? "His water clone can't follow you that far!" Kakashi informed them. Oh.

"It won't matter, he'll just kill sensei and then chase us down if we run..." Sasuke muttered.

"Well then we have to save sensei somehow." Saburo said.

"Yeah." Sasuke nodded.

"Got a plan?"

"Maybe, you gonna freak out this time?"

". . . depends." Saburo twitched.

"On?"

"How close to dying I come."

"That's comforting."

"Will you stop talking and do something!" Tazuna shouted.

"Alright, you two, try to distract that clone." Sasuke said.

"What? That's your plan?" Saburo looked at him incredulously.

"Well obviously there's more to it, you just do that, I'll handle the rest." Sasuke said.

"Fine, Emi, you think you can help?" Saburo asked.

"I... uhh... wh-what should I do?" Emi gulped nervously. Saburo just sighed,

"Gah, just stay there and protect Tazuna or something." He muttered.

"B-but." Emi tried to argue.

"Last time you tried to help us with a plan you got in the way." Saburo reminded her of their bell test.

"We don't have time to argue, go!" Sasuke ordered and took off running, aiming to go past the water clone.

The clone just scoffed and swung it's zanbato at Sasuke. The young prodigy ducked, but the clone followed up with a kick. Sasuke brought his arms up to block, but was still knocked back harshly. However, he managed to flip to his feet, ending up in a crouching position. But damn did his arms ache... though his arms would be the least of his problems in a moment, as the huge sword was now about to cleave him in half vertically.

He was saved by Saburo however, as the boy managed to deflect the blow with his own sword. He was not even close to being strong enough to block it completely, but as he held the sword with one hand on the hilt, his other hand supporting the blade end, palm against the dull side, the huge zanbato slid off and into the ground, missing the Uchiha by inches.

Sasuke didn't waste the chance and quickly dove past the clone, breaking into a run before the clone could turn to stop him. Saburo wasn't quite as lucky. He had now dropped his sword, and was clutching his wrist, something must have broken when he saved Sasuke.

"Grrr, don't forget about me!" He tried to forget the pain, pulling out a kunai, lunging at the clone which had tried, and failed, to catch Sasuke before he had gotten past. However, Saburo was too slow and the clone's large hand wrapped around his neck and hoisted him high. With it's other hand, it lifted to zanbato, ready to take Saburo's legs off at the waist.

The strike never came, as the clone instead looked down at it's chest... and the kunai embedded in it. It then collapsed into a puddle freeing Saburo. The young swordsman looked at where the kunai had come from... Emi.

:"I told you to stay and protect Tazuna!' Saburo shouted.

"I... I did." Emi replied. Indeed that was the truth, she hadn't taken a step, but she sure had good aim. In this case, born out of desperation.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was hoping he could at least get Zabuza to move away from the prison Kakashi was stuck in. He remembered what he had brought with him, and pulled it out. Fuuma Shuriken. He spread the blades out and spun around to gain momentum. He then released the spinning metal instrument of death.

"You'd think it would work, wouldn't you." Zabuza scoffed, and then plucked it out of the air with ease.

"Don't think that's all I have!" Sasuke shouted, "Katon: Gougakyou no Jutsu!" He had taken the few moments Zabuza had been distracted by the Fuuma Shuriken to get closer. He couldn't launch a huge fireball like his older brother, but he could definitely let a nice burst of fire out at closer ranges. Zabuza couldn't catch this. Instead, he was forced to awkwardly flip backwards into the water. He then quickly pulled himself out, standing on the very surface of the lake he had earlier used to trap Kakashi.

"You little punk!" He shouted, and unfolded the Fuuma Shuriken that he had just caught, ready to throw it back at Sasuke.

"I don't think so!" Kakashi rose out of the water in front of Zabuza, grabbing his wrist before he could throw the weapon, "You should really keep track of things better, I could have stabbed you just as easily as stopped you from throwing this."

"Hmph, you have two hands." Zabuza reminded.

"Good point." Kakashi whipped out a kunai, attempting to drive it into Zabuza's chest.

"But so do I!" Zabuza shouted, swinging the zanbato clutched in his other hand. Kakashi was forced to abandon his stab with the kunai. He had plenty of time to finish Zabuza, but he would have most likely been killed shortly after. It just wasn't worth it. He quickly released Zabuza and spun out of the way. He waited until Zabuza finished his now useless attack, and then lunged forth once more with the kunai.

Zabuza refolded the Fuuma Shuriken, and used it as a close range weapon, knocking Kakashi's kunai to the side with it. He then kicked him back and aimed for a horizontal slash across the chest with his zanbato. Kakashi blocked with the kunai at the last second, though the force of the blow chipped the smaller weapon. Despite the weapon damage, the block was successful, and the then he rammed forward with his shoulder, pushing Zabuza back.

Zabuza growled, jumped back some more, and then threw the Fuuma Shuriken at Kakashi, sick of both hands being full. However, Kakashi caught it as easily as Zabuza had earlier, spun around, and threw it right back.

"This isn't a game of Frisbee!" Zabuza shouted, batting the projectile out of the air with his sword, "Damn you Kakashi, you're becoming a real annoyance." The ex-Kiri-nin then began to make hand seals. However, Kakashi began to mimic them soon after. _"Oh, great... hmph, no wonder he's called the copy-nin." _Zabuza grumbled mentally. When the hand seals were done, both men shouted the jutsu at the same time,

"Suiton: Suiryuudan no jutsu!" As they finished, the water began to undulate until two massive serpentine dragons rose up and clashed, and beneath them, the two jounin clashed as well. They struggled, kunai against massive blade, each trying to out muscle the other, but even with the ridiculous size difference of their weapons, it was even. Eventually they disengaged, water dragons dispersing into the small lake with a splash.

"Hmph, so that jutsu didn't work eh?" Zabuza scowled, "Then how about..." He quickly began making more hand seals, and again Kakashi mimicked them... and then finished first,

"Suiton: Daibakufu no jutsu!" Zabuza only had time for his eyes to widen before a large vortex of water swept him away like a leaf. He felt like a rag doll, any attempt to escape or even tell which way was up failed miserably. Finally he stopped, though it was only to be smashed against a tree with a ton of water tearing at him as it went past, crushing him into the tree.

It took everything he had in him to not collapse the moment the water went away. However, his strength was failing him and his knees were trembling. It was pathetic. How could he have been beaten, and with a water jutsu no less! He couldn't take it... he couldn't stand anymore. As he was about to just let himself fall, kunai flew out and pinned him to the tree. His eyes widened in pain,

_"You can't even let me collapse... damn you Kakashi! You'd better kill me now, or I swear... you'll regret it."_ Zabuza raised his head to glare at the Konoha ninja as he walked towards him. Certainly he would die now. He'd die with his body broken and his pride crushed. It wasn't quite what he had had in mind. Everything went black.

- - -

"Sensei! Sensei!" Saburo shouted as he ran. Kakashi was fast. One moment he had washed Zabuza away, and the next he was out of sight. Eventually though he, Sasuke, and Emi arrived at where Zabuza was pinned to a tree. Strangely, he had two needles stuck in his neck as well.

"Sensei, what's going on?" Sasuke asked.

"There's someone else here." Kakashi looked up into the trees and pointed. Indeed, in the tree was another ninja, wearing a red and white mask. It was similar to an ANBU mask, but not in the shape of an animal. The boy jumped down,

"I'm sorry you were required to do this. I also thank you. I have been tracking him for some time, I wasn't sure if I would be able to handle him on my own." The boy said in a soft voice, "His body holds many secrets that can't fall into the wrong hands." He walked over to Zabuza, removing him from the tree and lifting him onto his shoulder. Despite being much smaller, it didn't seem to take him much effort. He gave a final nod to Kakashi, and then with a single hand seal vanished in a swirl of leaves.

"Whaaa?" Saburo raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"I... uhh... that was... Kakashi-sensei... what just happened?" Sasuke actually didn't have a clue, which was surprising considering he knew a lot for his age.

"That was a hunter-nin." Kakashi sighed, putting his headband back over his sharingan eye, "I can explain more later, we should move on."

"Heh, I guess you guys are all right." Tazuna said as he walked over, "You can stay at my place when we reach the town. You've earned it. I expected to be cut in half and here I am without a scratch." He laughed nervously.

"I told you we could handle it." Sasuke said smugly.

"We can brag later Sasuke, let's go." Kakashi said, and began to lead the way on to their destination. However he suddenly froze,

"_This... isn't good..." Were his last thoughts before his vision faded and he felt himself falling._

- - -

"He's awake!" Emi called out. It had been nearly three days that Kakashi had been unconscious, exhausted from fighting Zabuza.

"Do you hate me that much Emi?" Kakashi groaned, "That you have to call those two in the minute I wake up?" He asked jokingly. Though it was kinda true.

"S-sorry sensei." Emi giggled slightly, "Should I tell them to go away?"

"No no, it's fine. I need to talk to you guys anyway. Might as well be now." Kakashi sighed.

"Finally awake huh, well, I suppose you must be tired after kicking that much ass!" Saburo grinned as he walked in, "You have to teach me how to do stuff like that!"

"S-Saburo, language." Emi scolded. Of course, saying it with a stutter made the effect rather weak.

"Oh come on Emi, really? That bothers you? You saw a guy pinned to a tree a day ago!" Saburo rolled his eyes.

"I didn't like that either." Emi hung her head.

"Well you should get used to it, we're ninja, we'll probably see worse some day." Sasuke sighed.

"Yeah, if she doesn't get us killed by tripping over a trap or something." Saburo scoffed.

"Hmph." Sasuke smirked, "Didn't she save you? Be nicer to your knight in shining armor."

"And this is why I said that Emi. This is why." Kakashi sighed, _"Kami, there is no way I could have gotten a worse team. No other team could possibly have been as dysfunctional or argue this much."_

"What?" Saburo asked.

"It's nothing." Kakashi raised a hand weakly to dismiss the question, "But I've actually been awake for a few minutes now, I just had my eyes closed. I've been thinking about something and it's bothering me."

"What is it?" Sasuke asked.

"I think... Zabuza's still alive." Kakashi said, dropping a bomb shell with no warning what-so-ever.

"Say whaaaaaa?" Saburo's jaw dropped.

"You heard me. It's that hunter-nin actually. There was something wrong with him, in how he dealt with Zabuza specifically. They're job involves dealing with traitors, and then disposing of them completely to make sure other villages don't learn any of their secrets. They're supposed to do this as soon as possible, on site. Now can anyone tell me what that hunter did?"

"He took that body!" Emi's eyes widened.

"Oh son of..." Saburo face palmed, "C-could it be a fluke or something? Maybe they didn't want to work in front of us?"

"I doubt it. No reason not to as far as I can tell. Not to mention they said they were alone. Sure hunter-nin can work alone, but for someone like Zabuza... not to mention they said they weren't sure they could handle it. Why would they send someone under qualified to deal with such a threat? Also, they used senbon, and senbon are rarely fatal. He could have just put him in a near death state. In fact I'm almost sure that's what happened."

"Well, what do we do then?" Sasuke asked.

"I give you some training and do my best to prepare you. Well, when I can walk again that is. Using my sharingan like that is exhausting, I haven't had that kind of challenge in a long time." Kakashi sighed.

"Training? You want us to fight him?" Saburo asked.

"Well, the stuff I'll teach you needs to be learned eventually, and no, I don't, but I want to give you something new to work with. Just trust me OK?"

The three nodded, though they were filled with uncertainty.

_- - -_

_Chapter 23:_

_They never told us this, but being a sensei can be difficult. OK, so they did tell us that, but they leave out a lot of details. I know this... because I've gotten my first team. I'm not quite sure what to think honestly. They're bloody annoying as hell. A girl with a little too much spunk, one who doesn't talk enough, and one who talks too much. Akira, Kyo, and Mitsuru. Akira is a handful, but at least she listens for the most part. Kyo is a good kid, but he doesn't seem to like talking. And Mitsuru... I'm not sure what to think about him, he's gifted, but he's a pain in the ass like no other. Quite the trouble maker, and he doesn't like listening, seems to think he can do everything himself. He's clearly the one who's going to need the most work to make into a decent ninja. Of course, that is if Akira doesn't kill him. She doesn't like him at all, she's just as annoyed as I am. I don't say it to her face, but she can be annoying too though. Like I said, a bit too much spunk._

_Take it from me, only become a sensei if you have much patience, and a hell of a long temper. It is easily the most arduous trial a ninja can face. Take from this... that it's a pain in the ass._

_Chapter 24:_

_Well, things have been going well enough with the team. I've got them reined in a bit, and they get along a bit better now. Kyo will actually talk to them, and I think Akira's done a 180 when it comes to her feelings for Mitsuru. I think he's unintentionally charmed the poor girl. And when I say unintentionally he doesn't seem to have any idea that she likes him. Or if he does he doesn't feel anything for her. Well, at least not in that way. One thing that hasn't changed? Mitsuru still annoys the piss out of me on a daily basis._

Naruto had to laugh. Mitsuru a trouble maker? Sure he could make some jokes here and there, and he had a unique way of doing things sometimes, but to be that obnoxious? Naruto could see himself using this as blackmail. Oh most definitely.

"Oi Naruto, I'm back. Ah, reading again?" Mitsuru spoke as he walked over.

"Hehe, yeah." Naruto chuckled.

"Amusing this time?" Mitsuru raised an eyebrow, "Last time you stopped reading for weeks it was so depressing."

"Well, I suppose you could say it's amusing, yeah." Naruto replied slyly.

"I suddenly feel like being somewhere else, but against my better judgment I suppose I'll stay..." Mitsuru shifted uncomfortably. He knew there were some chapters in the book that mentioned him.

"So what were you up to?" Naruto asked.

"Oh, this and that. Let's just say I didn't accomplish anything." Mitsuru shrugged.

"O...K... hey wait, what happened to your hand?" Naruto pointed, and indeed Mitsuru's hand was scuffed up and a bit swollen.

"Oh... that... well, I suppose I _did _manage to sprain my wrist. Not the greatest accomplishment though." Mitsuru sighed.

"But what were you doing?"

"Stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Jutsu stuff?"

"What kind of jutsu?"

". . . the hard kind?"

"Why won't you give a straight answer." Naruto scowled suspiciously.

"Because to speak at length would hurt my delicate man pride..." Mitsuru said, _"And I need to stall so I can think of a convincing lie..."_

"Come on! Tell me! Just a little?" Naruto begged, attempting a puppy dog look that worked rather well.

"Damn you're pathetic looking. Fine. I was trying to figure out a jutsu called the Rasengan. It's way more complicated than I thought and I nearly broke my hand, OK?" Mitsuru muttered.

"Rasengan?" Naruto asked, "What's it supposed to do?"

"It's a ball of pure spinning chakra that can smash through just about anything, or at least I think that's what it is. I only saw it once, though for me that's usually enough." Mitsuru explained.

"Cool! But... why couldn't you just say that? And don't tell me it was your 'man pride.'" Naruto said.

_"Great, I just had to be evasive. He would have probably just left it at that but noooo!" _Mitsuru sighed, "It has to do with who invented it... it was the fourth Hokage."

"Oh..." Naruto's mood immediately darkened, "Hmph, well I wouldn't want to learn it then."

"And why not!? Why are you trying to keep your father out of your life so much!?" Mitsuru shouted.

"You know why!" Naruto argued.

"Fine, he put the demon in you, I get it. So then, whatwould _you _ have done? HUH!?"

"I... uhh... well I wouldn't have sealed the demon into my own kid!" Naruto looked away.

"What then? Just let it destroy the village? Then we'd all be dead, you, me, Sakura, EVERYONE!" Mitsuru roared.

"Bu-"

"EVERYONE!" Mitsuru repeated angrily.

"Well that's easy for you to say." Naruto muttered dejectedly.

"He was a good man Naruto, he didn't have any other options. He would have sealed it in himself if he could have I'm sure, but obviously for some reason he couldn't!" Mitsuru tried to get through to him somehow.

"It doesn't change anything. How many people can actually say their life is better living in the woods on the run from their own village?!" Was Naruto's angry retort.

"And you think your father wanted this to happen!? That he looked into the future and figured, 'oh, he can handle it,' is that what you think?! He didn't want this to happen!" Mitsuru argued back, "you're blaming your father when it's the villagers' fault for being ignorant! I don't care if you're angry, I'm angry too, but at least direct it at the people who deserve it!"

"I hate everyone in the village." Naruto muttered, "I only wanted to be the Hokage so I could shove it in their faces."

"You don't mean that, you're just upse-"

"I DO MEAN IT!" Naruto cut Mitsuru off, "They can all drop dead! That's how they feel about me, so that's how I feel about them!"

"Naru-"

"No! I'm done talking to you!" Naruto quickly turned and ran off into the woods before Mitsuru could stop him.

"Hey wait! Stop! COME BACK HERE!" Mitsuru shouted after him, "DAMMIT NARUTO!"

- - -

"Kakashi-sensei... no offense, but did Zabuza hit you in the head?" Saburo asked, staring at a tree.

"Saburo... that's rude..." Emi mumbled.

"It's fine Emi, I don't expect you to get it until I explain." Kakashi said, though he was slightly annoyed at the boy, "You'll be climbing trees yes, but you're not using your hands, you'll, well, just watch." Kakashi said and made a hand seal to gather chakra and, even in his crutches, walked towards a tree... and then walked up it, body sticking out fully horizontal.

"That's... that's..." Sasuke stared.

"Cooool!" Saburo grinned.

"Why didn't Itachi ever show me how to do that!?" Sasuke growled.

"Well you'll be learning it today." Kakashi said, and explained the technique even as he hung upside down from a branch, "Alright, that's the basics." He said as he finished, "Ready?"

"Hell yeah!" Saburo grinned, and the other two nodded.

"Well then," Kakashi threw three kunai down at them, startling the genin slightly, "Use those to mark your progress. Begin." He said and began to slowly walk back down the tree.

- - -

"My... everything... hurts..." Saburo muttered as he leaned against a tree, panting.

"You should be more careful." Emi said. She was just as tired, but nowhere near as scuffed up as Saburo was from falling so many times. She wasn't doing much better, but at least she didn't crash every time she messed up.

"This sucks, Sasuke's making me look bad..." He looked over at Emi's treed and suddenly felt like crawling under a rock, "E-even you're doing better than me!" He groaned.

"Not really." Emi said, "It's not that much higher." She tried to make him feel better. Not that it did much.

"Hmph, don't deny it, I don't need your pity!" He grumbled, "If you're doing better then good for you!" It hardly felt like a compliment. Suddenly Emi's eyes widened,

"I-I have an idea!" She said, actually sounding excited.

"You're enthusiastic all of a sudden, what idea?" Saburo asked.

"G-give me your kunai!" Emi held her hand out.

"Err... OK? I suppose you don't need two to stab me so I assume that isn't your plan..." He handed it to her.

She shook her head and turned to the nearest tree, second kunai in hand. She then gathered her chakra,

"Hey, uh, you're kinda close to the tree, don't you need a running start?" Saburo asked.

"I have a better idea... I hope." Emi said.

"You don't expect me to catch you I hope..." Saburo muttered.

"It... would be nice... if necessary..." Emi mumbled, not feeling very confident thanks to that.

"No promises." Saburo replied... chipping away at Emi's confidence even further. The girl gulped and placed a foot on the tree. After a few moments she tried to pull it away and found it required some effort. She quickly replaced it and then, taking a deep breath, lifted her other foot off the ground and placed it on the tree as well. She was fully horizontal.

"I-I did it?" Emi asked.

"Err... uhh... t-try walking?" Saburo suggested, shocked. Emi nodded, and took a wobbly step upwards, and another... and another... and... she slipped. However she had asked for a second kunai for a reason and stabbed both into the tree, catching herself and quickly adjusting her chakra.

"I think I'm getting it!" Emi giggled happily.

"Awesome! You'll teach me right?" Saburo asked.

"It's not too hard once you get used to it..." Emi replied.

"Cool, let me get Sasuke so I can rub it in his face!" Saburo said and ran off.

"I-I'm not that... confident... yet..." Emi whimpered, now unprotected if she was unable to catch herself again. However, she just took another deep breath and continued slowly upward.

"Hmph, no way, there's no way she's already figured it out!" Sasuke grumbled as Saburo led him back towards Emi.

"Yeah yeah, just wait and see!" Saburo smirked, "Look!" He said once they were there. And sure enough, Emi had beaten all previous team records. By a lot.

"Impossible!" Sasuke didn't want to believe it. Once again, beaten... by a damn girl.

"Hey Emi... stop shrinking!" Saburo laughed.

"H-hi Sasuke!" Emi called down.

". . . hi . . ." Sasuke muttered. What else could he say?

"D-don't worry, I'll help both of you if you want." Emi said, "It's not that ha-" So busy talking was she, that she lost focus and let her chakra control slip. She she reached out to try and catch herself again, but she had turned to talk to the boys below and didn't have time...

"GAH! EMI!" Saburo shouted in alarm.

"Crap, out of the way!" Sasuke quickly pushed past Saburo and ran up the tree. If he could make it a least a little ways up he could lessen the fall, _"Alright Sasuke, this is _not_ the time to screw this up!"_ He thought, but it proved to be irrelevant. Emi slammed into him before he could lose contact with the tree on his own. They both hit the ground hard, but at least neither broke anything.

"Th-thanks Sasuke..." Emi said timidly.

"Crushed beneath an 80 pound girl... yeah... I think I'm done for the day..." Sasuke groaned, "Please get off now..."

"Oh, s-sorry!" Emi shakily stood, wobbly, but Sasuke had taken the worst of the fall.

"Ugh, and I thought I hurt before." Sasuke stood up after a few seconds more.

"Eh, shake it off, be a man!" Saburo teased.

"Shove it... I'm going back to rest." Sasuke said.

"B-by the way Sasuke..." Emi spoke up.

"What?"

"I'm only 73 pounds..." She said.

"Oh... well... what does that have to do with anything!?" Sasuke asked incredulously.

"It's not polite to talk about a girl's weight, especially if you get it wrong like that." She smiled innocently, giggling slightly.

"I... err... bu-..." Sasuke twitched. But after a moment he couldn't help but to start laughing.

"Well hey, at least it means you were less likely to break something yeah?" Saburo laughed and slapped Sasuke on the back in a friendly manner.

"OW! Broken no, bruised yes!" Sasuke stiffened painfully from the blow.

"Are you done laughing now?" The three nearly shit themselves in surprise at Kakashi's sudden interjection, "Very good Emi, though you can't lose focus, there might not be anyone to catch you next time." He said, "Why don't you all rest, you can finish training tomorrow, with Emi's help it shouldn't be a problem right?"

"R-right..." Sasuke muttered, embarrassed. Emi of all people teaching him something... it was... hard to believe.

- - -

"Wow! I can see... everything! I'd be cliché and say I can see my house, but I can't..." Saburo laughed from the top of a tree.

"Isn't that a bit contradictory? You just said _everything_." Sasuke replied from the next tree over.

". . . I hope your tree breaks." Saburo glared.

"What? It's true." Sasuke crossed his arms.

"You just ruined a beautiful moment you know that?"

"Hmph, fine. I'm hungry, I'll leave you to your damn view." Sasuke grumbled and began climbing down.

"Fine!" Saburo stuck his tongue out. An hour later and he was asleep in the tree...

- - -

"Ugh... ow... mother... ow..." Saburo groaned, "Genius, freakin' genius. Sleep in the tree, real good idea." He complained as he climbed down the tree painfully, "I think I have a stick in my ass..."

Eventually he reached the bottom of the tree, and was surprised to see someone there, gathering small plants into a basket, but it wasn't anyone from his team,

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Saburo asked. The person jumped slightly in surprise, but turned to face him and smiled,

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there." It was a rather pretty girl.

"Well I did come out of a tree..." Saburo laughed slightly.

"A tree?" The girl asked.

"Yeah, I'm a ninja, I was learning to climb trees without my hands and fell asleep up there." Saburo pointed to the top of the tree, "Little advice, don't sleep in trees... it hurts..."

The girl laughed a little, "I see, that's umm... good advice I guess." Suddenly she looked down at his wrist, "Oh, you're hurt."

"It's no big deal, I thought it was broken but it was just a nasty sprain. I got it saving my friend's life, you know, ninja stuff." He said, leaving out the part where Emi saved him.

"I see, well, maybe I can help it heal faster, I know a few things." The girl offered.

"Oh, cool, thanks." He held out his hand and she unwrapped the splint he had on and began doing something with a plant she pulled out of her robe.

"You said you were a ninja?" She asked while she worked.

"Yeah," Saburo nodded, "why?"

"I'm just curious, what made you want to be a ninja?"

"Well my grandfather was, my dad wanted to be one too but he was born crippled... he tried to learn our family's sword techniques but he could never become a ninja, so I guess it's up to me now. I like swords anyway so it's a win-win I guess." Saburo shrugged.

"I see, but is there something or someone important to you? Truly precious that you want to protect?" The question caught Saburo off guard,

"Err, p-precious?" Saburo blinked, mind completely devoid of an answer, "I... uhh... never really thought about that... I just kinda did what my father asked for the most part." Saburo sat down near the girl, thinking, and also resting since his legs were cramped.

"I see. Well you're still young, maybe you'll find something someday." The girl smiled.

"M-maybe." Saburo smiled back, "Hey, you know you're kinda cute, I'm not gonna be here for long but maybe you and I could..." He let it trail off with a wink.

This time it was the girl's turn to be caught off guard, shrinking back slightly in surprise, eyes widening, "Err, wh-what?" What followed was a moment of extremely awkward silence. Eventually it was broken, "I... uhhh... d-don't go that way..."

_"Oh shit I just hit on a lesbian..."_ Saburo thought, "Oh... uhh... I-I didn't know you were that kind of girl... sorry." He tried to act calm.

"G-girl?" The other stared back for a moment, thoughtful, but then starting giggling madly, "I'm not a girl." They smiled amusedly.

"N-not... a... girl?" Saburo twitched slightly upon realizing what they meant, _"Oh crap... even worse... I just hit on a freakin' guy, didn't I?"_

"Yeah, I'm a boy, sorry." The boy said apologetically, realizing it must be twice as awkward for the other.

"_But the hair, the voice, the outfit, all so... feminine. HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE!? I'll never live this down, thank kami Sasuke isn't here." _ Saburo lamented mentally, "Err, it's uhh, not your fault. I guess I have bad eye-sight or something."

The boy laughed slightly, "Maybe."

"Hey, you don't have to agree with me!" Saburo whined.

"Sorry... umm, can I finish with your wrist?"

" Oh, sure." Saburo held his hand back out, _"Dammit, it was better when I thought I was being taken care of by a cute girl..." _He grumbled mentally_, _"Hmph... hey, what's your name anyway? Seems kinda silly that I don't know considering... well... what is it?" Saburo asked.

"Oh, my name is Shiro." The effeminate boy replied, and finished taking care of Saburo's wrist..

"Saburo." Saburo nodded, and then looked at his wrist, "Hey, it doesn't even ache any more, awesome!"

"Well, it was nice to meet you... but I should go, I have things to attend to." Shiro stood, picking up his basket.

"Oh, uhh, OK, bye." Saburo said, he would have stood as well, but the pain of sitting on the ground was marginally preferable to standing, "Well... this was a weird morning. I wonder what's for lunch?"

_- - -_

"So, tomorrow we begin the final stages of construction. Then you guys can stop sitting around just to protect an old geezer and go home. I assume it's pretty boring for you." Tazuna said that night as they sat at his family's dinner table.

"Nah, Kakashi-sensei's been training us on the side so it's not so bad." Saburo shrugged.

"Speak for yourself, I had to follow Tazuna-san around town today." Sasuke sighed, "It's pretty bad, they really do need that bridge."

"Y-yeah." Emi nodded, she had been there as well.

"Well thanks to you it should be better in a few months once the trade gets flowing." Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, said.

"Well for a hero like me it's just part of the job." Saburo said casually, leaning back in his chair, causing Tsunami to laugh slightly.

"Yeah, mister hero with the busted wrist getting saved by girls." Sasuke mocked... and then nudged his chair, making him fall over, "And poor balance as well."

"Screw. You." Saburo grumbled from the floor.

- - -

The next morning Saburo woke up and noticed he was pretty much alone in the house, "Aww man, they left me here didn't they?!" He stood up and instantly regretted it, "Huh... the morning after really does hurt twice as bad..." He said, doing his best to stretch out his sore muscles from sleeping in the tree the day before. He quickly gathered his equipment and went to go meet up with his team who were likely waiting for him at the bridge when he heard arguing in the kitchen, "Hey... that doesn't sound like my tea-"

That's when he heard Tsunami screaming, it sounded like she was being dragged off,

"Definitely not my team..." He said and quickly ran into the kitchen. He saw Tazuna's grandson cowering in a corner, terrified,

"Th-they took mom!" He stuttered fearfully, "Save her!"

_"Well, time to prove that I really am a hero." _Saburo thought, nodding to the young boy and then rushing out. Fortunately they hadn't gotten far and he saw Tsunami struggling in the arms of two thugs, "Oi, that's not how you treat a lady." Saburo said, drawing his sword, _"Huh, that kid did a good job, doesn't hurt at all to hold my sword."_

"Ugh, one of those ninja. It's just a kid, deal with him, I've got the bitch." The bulkier of the thugs said.

"Yeah yeah." The other replied, drawing his own sword.

"Ooh, sword fight. Awesome." Saburo grinned, _"I lived through a fight with Zabuza's clone, this'll be cake."_

The thug rushed at him and started off with a diagonal slash that Saburo blocked easily, though the shooting pain in his arm was unexpected, _"WRIST IS NOT BETTER! DEFINITELY NOT BETTER!"_ However, he gritted his teeth and managed to hold against the blow. However, he realized something. Whether or not he was more skilled, these thugs had one big advantage over him. Physical strength. _"Looks like I have to play it smart then. Dammit, smart's never been my strong point. I'd rather just hack these bastards to bits."_ He complained mentally, though his thoughts were cut short as the thug struck again, however this time Saburo jumped to the side and jabbed the man in the ribs with the pommel of his sword, the pain causing the thug to stagger slightly.

While he was off balance, Saburo quickly moved behind him and slashed him across the back of the knees, taking him down. He then turned to the other thug... but noticed he had taken the chance to drag Tsunami a fair distance away, "H-HEY! GET BACK HERE!"

"Don't move or I kill her!" The thug warned.

"Err... crap..." Saburo twitched, what the hell was he gonna do now? "Uhh, y-you know the second you kill her I kill you right? Just drop her and get out of here and you get to live!" He tried to act tough. Fortunately the thug was too stupid to see the obvious way out of that and paused for a moment. Long enough for Tsunami to bite his wrist. Hard. The thug dropped her, cursing in pain and clutching his wrist. Before he could do anything else, Saburo nailed him in the shoulder with a kunai,

"Screw this!" The thug whimpered in agony and ran off, abandoning his partner.

"Y-you saved me." Tsunami said, rather shaken from the near kidnapping.

"Like I said, I'm a hero. It's what I do." Saburo shrugged.

"Yes, well, you should go tell your sensei what happened here. I should be fine, they won't send anyone else for a while... I hope." Tsunami said as she calmed down.

"Right." Saburo nodded, quickly running off to the bridge. The second he was out of earshot he took a deep breath and, "SON OF A BITCH! OW!" He clutched his wrist, "Dammit, I need to learn more swear words for situations like this..."

- - -

"I guess Zabuza really is alive." Sasuke muttered, trying to see through the thick mist that had suddenly rolled in.

"Yup." Kakashi sighed.

"Wh-what do we do?" Emi whimpered.

"You die, simple as that." Zabuza suddenly spoke. Before any of them could respond, numerous mizu-bunshin appeared around them.

"Sasuke, think you can handle the clones?" Kakashi asked.

"Right." Sasuke took a deep breath, and then leapt into action, slashing them apart with a kunai,_ "Perfect."_ He thought.

"Yes yes, very impressive, except those clones aren't really comparable to myself. Try that with me and you'll need a new pair of legs to jump around with." Zabuza growled, "In fact, why don't you deal with him Haku?" Zabuza glanced down at the smaller figure next to him who nodded. They fake hunter-nin dashed forward in a blur of speed towards Sasuke,

"_Fast!" _He thought, just managing to block their first strike with his kunai. While to two skirmished, Zabuza turned to Kakashi,

"I suppose I have to deal with you now, don't I?" He said, hefting his large sword.

"I suppose so, yes, if you can." Kakashi replied calmly.

"Of course I can, I've figured out how that damn eye of yours works. You don't stand a chance." Zabuza replied, and with a hand seal, the mist got even thicker.

_- - -_

Saburo arrived at the bridge and stared at it from the side, "Huh, I am really late aren't I...?" He said, peering into the unnaturally thick mist. However, he spotted something strange near the edge of the mist where it wasn't quite as thick. It looked like a large formation of floating... mirrors? "What the hell? Where is everyone? For all I know they're right in front of me, stupid... mist... crap Zabuza's here isn't he?"

_- - -_

Sasuke struggled to his feet, his entire body covered in stinging cuts from Haku's relentless assaults. Part of him wondered why he hadn't just killed him, another part of him was glad he hadn't. OK so most of him was glad he hadn't. However, that would probably change soon unless he found a way to fight back. Haku just kept jumping form mirror to mirror so fast he couldn't even see him.

"I want you to know this brings me no pleasure." Haku said, his voice coming from everywhere.

"Save it." Sasuke growled, looking at the dozen Haku reflections, wondering which was real. This earned a sigh from Haku, and then another attack came as he jumped from a mirror, becoming no more than a blur as he cut Sasuke up with a hail of needles, aimed so precisely that they didn't even stab into him once.

"Hey Sasuke, what the hell are you doing in there?!" He suddenly heard from outside the mirrors.

"S-Saburo?" Sasuke groaned, looking up. The other boy nodded and took a step to enter the circle of mirrors, "No no no, don't come in-" Too late, "Dammit."

"What? Wait, why do all these mirrors have a reflection of that hunter-nin we saw before?" Saburo asked.

"Well I didn't cut myself up, that's for sure." Sasuke retorted angrily, "Now we're both stuck in here, good job idiot!"

"How the hell was I supposed to know!?"

"IT'S NOT THAT HARD TO FIGURE OUT!" Sasuke shouted.

"Well it's too late now, what do we do?" Saburo grumbled.

"Die probably." Sasuke muttered.

"What happened to the great Uchiha?" Sasburo mocked.

"Yeah... well... wait, I have an idea... maybe." Sasuke took a deep breath, "I'm going to need all your kunai and shuriken."

"Wh-"

"Do you want to live or not?!" Sasuke snapped, "How much longer do you think he's gonna let us sit here and talk?"

"Touche." Saburo quickly handed over his throwing weapons.

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to take more than one life." They heard Haku sigh.

"Oh, well don't worry, you won't even have to take one." Sasuke grinned, weapons in hand, "Be ready." He added to Saburo in a whisper.

"For wh-" Saburo didn't have a chance to finish as Haku began another attack. Sasuke quickly threw a single kunai, but it was deflected by a needle. He knew he didn't have much time now, he needed to do this perfectly. It felt like time slowed down, maybe it was the adrenaline, but for once he might be able to pull this off just like his brother. He threw the rest of his kunai and shuriken, having one deflect off the first kunai he had thrown, which redirected it, and then causing a chain reaction making in a deadly spread of steel. Haku tried to knock them out of the air as well, but for once, he was just a little to slow, getting grazed along the arm and falling to the ground. He hadn't expected that.

Saburo now knew why Sasuke had told him to be ready, and quickly ran towards Haku before he could get up, putting his sword to his throat,

"We win." He grinned.

"I'm afraid that's an incorrect assumption." Haku replied calmly, and with a barely perceptible morion sent a senbon needle into Saburo's sword arm, paralyzing it and making him drop his blade. Haku quickly got up, and moved to finish saburo off, when suddenly his wrist was grabbed by Sasuke,

"OK, this time we really win." Sasuke said. Haku turned to face his other opponent and paused, shocked to see that Sasuke's eyes were now red,

_"Sharingan. So he's like me, with a kekkei genkai."_ Haku thought, however, he wasn't ready to give up yet, and pulled out a senbon to use as a melee weapon, but with his sharingan, Sasuke caught his other wrist easily,

"Oh, how sweet, you want to hold hands." Sasuke smirked... and then kicked Haku through a gap in his mirrors, "I don't hold hands with guys." he muttered and quickly followed Haku. The last thing he wanted was Haku tog et back to his mirrors, it was a pain in the... everything really.

"I think the universe is mad at me. Or at least my arm. First my wrist, now a damn needle. At least it doesn't hurt anymore." Saburo muttered, clutching his numb arm as he followed Sasuke out of the mirrors. He saw Sasuke had managed to pin Haku against a railing.

"Like I said, you're not killing anyone." Sasuke raised up his last kunai, ready to end it, when Saburo suddenly spoke up,

"Hold on! Take off his mask." He said. Saburo realized that the boy's voice sounded strangely familiar.

"Wh-what?" Sasuke turned to look at Saburo.

"Please?" Saburo sighed.

"Ugh, fine." Sasuke muttered and ripped off Haku's mask, "There, hap- whoa, wait, is this a girl?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Sh-Shiro?!" Saburo's jaw dropped.

"That's... not my real name." Haku looked away, not wanting his death to become awkward.

"Oh what, you two know each other?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, I thought he was a girl too at first so I hit on h-" Saburo stopped mid sentence, twitching in annoyance at himself, _"I just said that out loud... in front of Sasuke... great."_

"You what?" Sasuke stared at him strangely.

"Nothing."

"Right... I'm going to stab him now, any objections?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't know. It feels weird to stand here and watch you stab someone I know who isn't even fighting back any more." Saburo mused.

"That's because I have him pinned... and my arm is getting tired..." Sasuke grumbled.

"Just get it over with. I'm useless now." Haku muttered.

"Useless?" Saburo and Sasuke looked at him, confused.

"I live to serve Zabuza-sama, and you've humiliated me. He won't need me anymore. Just kill me!" Haku said more forcefully.

"Wait, you want to die just because you might have disappointed him?" Saburo asked, "That's retarded."

"He rescued me and I pledged myself to him. I have no other reason to live." Haku looked down, depressed.

"Wimp." Saburo muttered.

"Wh-what?" Haku looked at him, annoyed.

"That's the wimps way out. You saved him didn't you? So the way I see it, you two should be even by now. Make your own way to live, don't just cling to him like a lost puppy." Saburo scoffed.

"Huh, so you're not a complete moron." Sasuke said.

"Thank you." Saburo said.

"Surprisingly deep."

"I know, I amaze myself sometimes." Saburo shrugged.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you having a conversation right now?!" Haku asked, bewildered.

"Don't interrupt it's rude." Sasuke said. Haku was now completely taken aback by their awkward behavior. This was not how he wanted to die... an afterthought to their random conversation.

"Well technically we are talking about him." Saburo said.

"I guess so." Sasuke shrugged.

"Are you going to kill me or not!?" Haku snapped, starting to lose his usual calm demeanor.

"Should we? The whole adrenaline rush is wearing off now. It feels weird." Saburo said.

"Yeah." Sasuke admitted. Haku sighed, but suddenly his eyes widened.

"Get off." He suddenly kneed Sasuke in the stomach, "I have to go." he said, mostly to himself, but as he moved forward, making a hand seal for the shunshin technique, Saburo slammed the pommel of his sword into his forehead,

"Yeah... no." Saburo said, "Where do you think you're going?"

"Get out of my way!" Haku tried to get up, but paused as Saburo's sword was placed at his neck,

"It's my off hand, but I can stills tab you no problem." Saburo threatened. However, he saw the desperation in Haku's eyes and risked looking away to see what was going on. The mist was fading slightly, and he was just in time to see Zabuza get impaled by Kakashi's lightning covered fist, ". . . oh. . ." Was all he could say.

"NO!" Haku cried, and this time Saburo was too slow to stop him as he rushed to Zabuza's side. It was too late, he was dead. Haku began to sob at his loss, but then he looked up at the man who had just murdered the most important person in his life, glaring daggers,

"Please don't, I'm almost certain I'd kill you, and I'd rather not. You're still young." Kakashi said, seeing the murderous intent in Haku's eyes.

"I d-don't care..." Haku said, his voice breaking from the grief that wracked his body.

"Oho! So the big bad swordsman is dead eh?" A rather arrogant voice shouted, "Hmm, looks like I have to do his work for him, he just can't seem to do it right. I know they have that whole second chance saying, but I probably should have known better."

"Gatou..." Haku growled, angered at the insults to his dead mentor, "He's insulted Zabuza-sama too many times... at least let me kill him..."

"No objections." Kakashi shrugged, glad to have Haku's focus taken away from himself.

"You're dead Gatou!" Haku shouted.

"Right right, well, this time I have more than just those two buffoons guarding me, so have fun with that." Gatou laughed, joyfully anticipating the sight of Haku's dead body. His arm still ached from when Haku had crushed his wrist.

There was a lot of water in the air, left over from Zabuza's Kirigakure no jutsu. It began to solidify around Haku, first as swirling water, then as floating ice crystals. Large, sharp ones. Gatou noticed this and gulped nervously. Haku pointed a hand at Gatou, and the shards of ice darted through the air at him. Unfortunately the fat man was rather fast when he was pissing his pants in fear, and he managed to use his own men as meat shields against the ice as he ran.

Haku gave chase, rushing right into the large crowd of hired thugs. He acquired a sword form one of the dead, and, while he was no master swordsman, he was much faster and more agile than the thugs and a mass slaughter began. And then Haku stood before Gatou, covered in the blood of dead men,

"C-come on, we can work this out. I have money, a lot, you'd be rich..." Gatou pleaded.

"I already lost the only thing I care about. Money won't bring him back." Haku glared.

"N-" Gatou didn't have a chance to cry out as Haku stabbed him through the heart, letting the dead body topple over the edge of the bridge. He fell to his knees, with the thugs and Gatou dead all that was left was Kakashi, and after the exertion of all the killing, he knew he didn't stand a chance. He was pathetic. He just knelt there, staring almost longingly at the sword in his hand...

"D-damn." Saburo gulped, now thoroughly frightened of the boy, "Thank Kami he wasn't mad at _us._"

"Well, we did stop him from saving Zabuza." Sasuke mentioned.

"Dammit, think he'll remember that?" Saburo glanced at his teammate.

"Let's hope not. And... what is he doing, he's just staring at that katana." Sasuke said, confused.

"I... don't... know..." Saburo said. But even as he said it, he realized _exactly_ what Haku was doing. He took off running towards the boy. He knew he was right, because even as he ran, he could see Haku turning the sword in his hand, making the blade face towards himself, "DON'T DO IT!" He shouted, causing Haku to pause in surprise.

Now Saburo had intended just to tackle Haku to stop him from stabbing himself. What he hadn't intended... was to send them careening over the edge of the incomplete bridge. Oops.

_"Huh... this is probably going to hurt... ah crap... I can't swim with only one arm... is this where my life flashes before my eyes?" _Saburo thought on the way down.

- - -

"Come on, wake up!" Saburo heard, however his head was far too fuzzy to comprehend it properly, "Don't die!"

"D-die?" He muttered weakly.

"Thank Kami." The voice sighed.

"You sound like a girl... mommy?" Saburo asked dazedly.

"No..."

"Then... ugh, my head hurts." Saburo forced his eyes open and sat up, "Y-you?" He was surprised to see Haku kneeling next to him.

"You're an idiot, you almost died doing that!" Haku scowled.

"Yeah... well..." Saburo blinked a few times as everything came back to him, "I'm not the suicidal one, so... there..." He said, making Haku wince at the memory.

"You should have l-"

"Shut up." Saburo interrupted.

"B-"

"Shut up! My head hurts to much to make a rational argument right now. I'll yell at you later." He grumbled. Haku just sighed,

"I think your teammates will probably find us soon. I don't think I could carry you very far. I'm too exhausted." He sighed.

"That's nice." Saburo flopped back down onto his back, "Ow... rocks... pain..."

A few moments later Sasuke, Emi, and Kakashi arrived,

"Well well, look at you , let me guess, you almost drowned and the person you were trying to save rescued you." Sasuke said.

"Yeah, well, if it wasn't fore me they'd have been too dead to save me.' Saburo grumbled from the ground.

"Well if you hadn't bothered in the first place you'd still be on the bridge." Sasuke argued.

"You forget, with what I did, both of us are alive." Saburo said.

"Dammit, you win." Sasuke growled.

"Yes, well this is nice and all, but can we trust you to not cause any trouble." Kakashi said to Haku. Said boy glared at Kakashi, but eventually nodded. Figuring he owed Saburo that much at least, "Good, now we need to get you someplace dry to rest." Kakashi turned to Saburo.

- - -

"I'm glad you're OK." Emi said to Saburo once they were back at Tazuna's place.

"Define OK." Saburo groaned.

"Alive?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm excellent in that regard." Saburo shrugged, "As long as you ignore the limp arm and broken ribs."

"I-I thought what you did was very brave." Emi said.

"Well, that's better than what Sasuke had to say. Nice to see _someone_ appreciates my work." Saburo muttered.

"Oh shove it." Sasuke rolled his eyes from his spot on the other side of the room.

"Oh, I also saved Tsunami from two of Gatou's thugs who came here. I will accept applause now." Saburo said... and was greeted by a few claps from Emi... mostly out of pity, "I hate you all."

"Best friends ever eh?" Sasuke smirked.

"Considering I don't have any other friends..." Saburo sighed.

"At least we make a good team when we have to."

- - -

Being alone wasn't as comforting as Naruto might have thought. The last four years had gotten him used to at least Sakura or Mitsuru for company. Thought right now he didn't want to be around Mitsuru, and Sakura... well... who knew where she was.

"I thought he was on my side..." Naruto growled, "baka-sensei!"

He continue slowly walking down an old animal path until he found himself at a man-made road, "Huh? Are we near a town?" He wondered. Suddenly though he heard something, and then there was a female voice,

"I FOUND YOU!"

* * *

**CLIFFHANGER!**

**So yeah... I guess it ended up being more about Sasuke's _teammates_ rather than Sasuke. Not sure how that happened, but I don't feel like changing it. And though I'll admit it wasn't my original plan, yes, Haku lived. Yay. If anyone feels like I skimped on the whole bridge fight, that's cuz I was getting fed up with this chapter and wanted to get it over with. For some reason it was harder to write than previous chapters. Maybe it was the utter lack of Sakura that did it. Maybe because it ended up being 14K words long. Maybe even because I finished it at around 4am. Regardless, I'm not sure if I even did a good job, it felt awkward at times, forced even, as I was writing it... (that's why reviews are nice... tells me if I'm doing good or not)**

**Anyway, you may have noticed something. That's right! Sasuke's not an emo prick! He's just a regular prick. This is just one thing, pay attention in the coming chapters now that we've reached the actual cannon time-line and you'll see a number of changes due to the fact that Naruto and Sakura aren't in the village. What kind of changes? Well, who knows. Oh right, I do. I'm not tellin'! Haha!**

**Well, anyway, the next chapter will get us away from Sasuke and back to the good old Naruto and Ino storylines. Yay!**** Lastly, if you're wondering why I did this chapter in the first place, well, it was for character development and all that rot. Needed to establish Sasuke's new personality and his team for their later appearances.**

**  
Consider this massive chapter your (2009)Christmas present from me. Let's just hope I didn't disappoint.  
If you're in the Christmas spirit, you can do me a favor and help me achieve 100 reviews before January 1. If you do, I'll write a special bonus chapter that extends after my planned final chapter for this. Otherwise you can forget about it! I beleive only about 40 reviews are necessary, so come on, do a guy a favor, hell, go back and review older chapters if you want. Tell me what you liked, didn't like, what made you laugh, cry, get mad. Anything relevant is acceptable. I'll even take advice/suggestions. I'd really appreciate it... because I made a bet with a friend... and I want to rub this in his face. Cuz he's an ass sometimes.**

**Til' next time.  
**


	13. Come Together and Fall Apart

**I know I know, it's been a while, since Christmas I believe. But seriously, how can I give up on my first successful fic! Not as great as my comedy fic apparently though... **

**But I digress, you probably want the actual chapter. **

**A response to a review picked at random since it's been so long.**

**xzavx: Glad you approved! I was a little worried that the use of so many OCs might not go well, but at least you didn't seem to mind! Hopefully the same can be said for most of the other readers.**

* * *

**Come Together And Fall Apart**

Naruto was instantly on guard, he had no idea who could be attacking him. Could it be the Uchihas had come back again? Unfortunately though, instantly apparently wasn't good enough, as he soon found himself in a bone crushing... hug?

"I missed you so much! Sensei is a baka for splitting us up for a year!" his attacker shouted.

"W-wait? Sakura?" Naruto responded in a strained voice. Currently he could feel his entire body, and it all hurt.

"Of course silly, who else?" Sakura replied ecstatically.

"I... can't... breathe..." was all the blond could manage to _wheeze._

"Oh! S-sorry." Sakura let go, laughing nervously.

"It's fine, but what are you doing here? I mean, I know it's been a year, but how did you find me?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Hmph, I guess you're not happy to see me." Sakura scowled, crossing her arms and turning away from him.

"Huh? O-of course I am, what are you talking about?" Naruto waved his arms in a panic. "I missed you, really, I thought about you every day! I swear!"

Sakura glanced back at him suspiciously, "_Every_ day?"

"Yeah, every last one!" Naruto grinned.

"Good!" Sakura smiled, giggling. "And the reason I found you is because the town we were supposed to meet up at is only an hour or two away, I just got impatient and started looking around."

"Th-that close?" Naruto's jaw dropped.

"You didn't know?" Sakura raised an eyebrow, surprised Naruto wouldn't know about this. Naruto just shook his head. "Hmm, well, we did get here early. Mitsuru-sensei probably wanted to surprise you tomorrow or something. He's silly like that."

"Hmph, he's a _jerk,_" Naruto grumbled, remembering their heated argument over Naruto's "father" not long ago. He'd never call the Yondaime that.

"Hey! Why would you say that! He's done a lot for us! You'd be _dead_ without him." Sakura scowled, though truthfully, she was very concerned now. Sure, Naruto and Mitsuru had argued before, but she was sensing something deeper this time. They were too old now for spats, weren't they?

"Yeah, I know, but that doesn't mean I have to like him."

"What happened?" Sakura asked, letting her worry show now.

"I don't wanna talk about it. And I never will," Naruto muttered. The surprise and joy of seeing Sakura again had snapped him out of his bad mood temporarily, but now it was coming back full force.

"Come on Naruto, we're supposed to be friends. You can tell me anything." Sakura looked him in the eye and put a hand on his shoulder. Naruto looked back at her, and then hung his head.

"Can it at least wait a while?" he asked.

"Alright, besides, we shouldn't ruin a happy moment, so cheer up!" Sakura grabbed his cheeks and pulled his lips into a smile. Naruto swatted her hands away gently, but the smile stuck, even though it was small.

"Heh, so what did Tsunade teach you?" Naruto asked. "I know I learned a lot."

"Oh, a few things, and she let me try some of the sake stuff, now I'm addicted!" Sakura giggled.

"Th-that's not funny." Naruto grimaced, sincerely hoping Sakura was kidding.

"Matbe not, but your face is!" Sakura grinned and poked him on the nose.

"Hanging around with Tsunade made you mean."

"If you want mean, I'll hang you upside down from a tree again. And this time I won't need sensei's help. Tsunade-sensei's training made me really strong!" Sakura flexed her arm, causing a somewhat decent, but still small, muscle to bulge.

". . . it's not that impressive. . ." Naruto blinked, not seeing what Sakura was talking about.

"Hmph, fine then!" Sakura grumbled and found a somewhat large rock. "I'll prove it by moving this rock!"

"Even I couldn't move that, don't be stupid." Naruto crossed his arms.

"Don't call me stupid!" Sakura's face turned red as she stomped her foot angrily.

"I didn't say you were stupid, I just said trying to move that rock would be!" Naruto argued.

"It's not stupid! I can move it!" Sakura shouted back, the volume of her voice escalating.

"It's not possible! You can't do it!" Naruto yelled back, just as loud.

"SHUT UP!" Sakura's fist flew back into the rock in anger. Naruto's eyes widened and his jaw dropped when she put a large crater in the rock.

"I-I thought you were j-just gonna move it..." Naruto whimpered nervously, now scared out of his wits.

"Well you made me mad!" Sakura puffed up her cheeks in a mix of frustration and embarrassment that she had lost control.

"J-just make sure you only hit rocks and not me." Naruto gulped.

"But that hurt my hand." Sakura pouted, rubbing the slight scuff mark on her hand.

"I think you hand hurt the rock..." Naruto chuckled nervously. Sakura couldn't help but giggle as well.

"Oh well, Tsunade taught me how to fix something like this." Sakura made a hand seal and a green glow came over one hand, and then she placed that hand on her injured one. In moments there was barely any sign the skin had ever been damaged.

"Cool!"

"I know right? Now what did you learn?" Sakura asked.

"Hmph, not that much. Mitsuru only taught me one big jutsu. He says I'm still not ready for anything more, and even then he only taught me that for emergencies! He's stupid!" Aside from the Arashi Fungeki technique he'd learned only minor jutsu and the rest of his training had heavily focused on basic chakra control and taijutsu.

"Oh, well I'm sure he had his reasons."

"I'm starting to think his reasoning is broken." Sakura sighed at that. It was a little painful to see Naruto so upset, and to see him direct so much anger at the man who'd risked his life and career for them. Mitsuru was far from perfect, but his heart was in the right place.

"Well Mitsuru is really strong, I bet you could beat me in a fight after training with him so much!" She hoped that would life his spirits.

"Well, yeah, but I think I've always been able to beat you," Naruto replied deadpan. Sakura's jaw dropped at that.

"H-hey! Y-you don't know that!"

"I can summon giant caterpillars and I have a massive demon inside me."

"R-right." Sakura had to give him that one.

"GIRL, WHERE ARE YOU?" They both flinched as a shrill voice pierced the air.

"I-I guess Tsunade-sensei followed me. I-I may have forgotten to tell her where I was going." Sakura giggled nervously. "Can I hide behind you?"

"I don't have a death wish, you're on your own." Naruto smirked.

"You suck!"

"There you are! Wh-" The two nearly jumped out of their skin, but fortunately it was only Tsunade. The busty woman marched over, her figure rather intimidating. "Well, I guess you two just couldn't wait, could you?"

"Sorry, sensei," Sakura apologized meekly.

"Well, no harm no foul I guess. But don't do it again!" Tsunade turned her gaze on Naruto and smiled warmly. "Well, it's nice to see you again, kid. Why don't you lead us back to Mitsuru and we can have a big old reunion?"

"Right... reunion." Naruto let out a long sigh. "This way." Sakura moved to follow him but Tsunade grabbed her before she could.

"What's wrong with him?" Tsunade asked.

"Err, I think he had a fight with Mitsuru-sensei," Sakura began. "He got all upset when I mentioned him too."

"Did he say what it was about?"

"No, he didn't want to talk about it yet."

"Hm, we'll see, come on." Tsunade pursed her lips and then began following Naruto.

**. . .**

Mitsuru was honestly starting to get sick of living in the woods and using stumps for chairs. Occasional stops in towns kept it bearable, but he didn't have a steady income since he was considered a criminal and had to keep a low profile. He and Naruto had fought before, but this time he didn't see a quick resolution on the horizon. It reminded him of when Naruto and Sakura had been fighting. Back then, Tsunade had cleverly put and end to it. He didn't see that happening for him.

"And on your left, you'll see a deranged forest hermit. Try not to stare, it tends to agitate him." He raised an eyebrow and turned to see Tsunade of all people smirking at him. He'd have laughed at the coincidence if he wasn't in such a bad mood.

"Sensei!" Mitsuru couldn't help but smile when Sakura ran over to him. She hugged him, but Mitsuru glanced up over her shoulder to see Naruto giving him a dirty look.

"So I take it from the way Naruto is glaring at you, things haven't gone so well lately?" Tsunade got right to the point.

"Well-"

"No." Naruto interrupted Mitsuru with a frown.

"So, what happened?" Tsunade aimed a scowl at Naruto for interrupting.

"Can we talk in private for a moment?" Mitsuru sighed and stood up. He brought Tsunade to spot a short distance away. "So, I suppose he's not trying to hide it. Probably wants people to know he's mad at me."

"Why?"

"He has daddy issues to put it mildly," Mitsuru began. He had some explaining to do.

**. . .**

"You are the biggest losers ever I swear. USE BOTH HANDS!" Ino swatted Chouji on the back of his head.

"Ow! What was that for?" Chouji whined sadly. Mostly because Ino had just made him drop his bag of chips. Five whole chips had spilled out and been ruined.

"Look, this gardening crap sucks, I know, but you'll get it done faster if you aren't eating while you work!" Ino scolded him.

"This is so troublesome," her other teammate Shikamaru complained. He was currently staring at the clouds.

"Ugh, at least Sasuke would have been _useful_."

"Funny how hindsight works, isn't it?" That was their sensei, Asuma. He was almost as bad. Not exactly lazy, but he was very laid back. His smoking got on her nerves too. Her family ran a flower shop, she was used to the pleasant fragrance of roses and peonies. Cigarette smoke smelled awful in comparison.

"Hey, you're making it sound like she'd be better off without us!" Chouji scowled at Asuma.

"Well, I'm not saying that Sasuke isn't a skilled genin," Asuma replied offhand. "But hey, put in a little effort and you can achieve great hings too!"

"I want my chips back..."

"GET TO WORK!" Ino cracked the proverbial whip with a shrill yell.

"Women are troublesome." Shikamaru rolled his eyes. Ino made him regret that one later when she taught him just how sharp a rose's thorns could be.

**. . .**

"That's zero to twelve, are you sure you want to keep going?" Saburo asked. Sasuke was relaxing while his teammates sparred, with Emi losing every time.

"I have to get better," Emi mumbled weakly. She was losing confidence with how often and easily she was losing.

"You're using the same strategies every time, it's no wonder you're losing," Sasuke told her from where he was reclining in the grass nearby. "I've taught you things, but you're not using them."

"It's hard-"

"Of course it is, and it will stay hard until you practice. This is sparring, you're supposed to practice new things, not build up bad habits."

"O-oh, r-right." Now Emi looked horribly embarrassed. "Umm, I-I kinda forgot... some of it..."

"You were supposed to practice at home too." Sasuke sat up, looking further annoyed at Emi's incompetence.

"I don't have anyone to practice with."

"What about your parents?"

"My father isn't a shinobi." Emi looked at the ground.

"OK, and what about your mom? She ain't one either?" Saburo rose an eyebrow.

"I-I don't know who my mother is." Emi hung her head, wishing their conversation hadn't gone in that direction.

"So whose idea was it for you to become a ninja?"

"W-well, we didn't have much money, so... I-it was my idea."

"_You_ wanted to be a ninja?"Saburo gave her a surprised look. He figured that must have been a fantasy gone wrong once she figured out how bad she was at fighting.

"Well, I-I don't know if I would say I wanted to. More like I felt I had to."

For the rest of the time spent with his team Sasuke thought about that on and off. He felt bad for Emi. He couldn't guess how she felt, he was good at being a shinobi and for the most part liked it. Emi must have felt trapped.

In the end, Sasuke ended up walking Emi home, trying to re-explain some of the simpler things he'd taught her. He was starting to get the hang of the whole "teamwork" thing Kakashi had wanted them to learn. Frankly it was annoying, but it had its uses. He figured it would be less painful if Emi was actually useful, so he'd been making at least a small effort to try and help her improve.

Also it was funny when he was around Emi, he could practically feel some of the other girls in the village writhe at the sight of another girl walking with him. Sometimes it was the small things in life that brought a smirk to his face.

"We're here, umm, thank you, Sasuke," Emi said when they arrived. Sasuke realized that until right then he'd had no idea where she lived. It wasn't impressive. It was small and the pain was peeling in places. The neighborhood wasn't the greatest either, though crime in shinobi villages usually wasn't too bad. Robbing the wrong house could end up being fatal.

"Ah, Emi, is this your teammate?" Sasuke looked away from Emi and saw an older looking man walk out of her house. His hair was rapidly graying, though it wasn't falling out yet. His hands looked strong, but otherwise his build wasn't impressive or imposing.

"Oh, y-yes, father. This is Sasuke."

"Right, the Uchiha. Nice to finally meet at least one of you," the man smiled warmly, accentuating the many wrinkles that were forming on his face. Sasuke nodded back.

"Right, well I'll be going. Nice to meet you too, Kusabana-san," Sasuke responded. Strangely, the man didn't seem to immediately react to Sasuke's words, but then smiled after a few moments.

**. . .**

"Father." Sasuke was home now, and he had an idea.

"What is it?" his father asked nonchalantly.

"The Uchiha clan is old right?"

"Yes, your point?" His father turned to look at him, seeming impatient.

"Does that mean we have records of... things?"

"Is there a point to this? What do you want, I'm busy."

"I'm wondering who one of my teammate's mother is," Sasuke admitted. His desire to learn about the girl had spiked after meeting her father. She didn't look much like him, and the delayed reaction when he'd used Emi's family name made him suspicious.

"I don't have time for this," his father grumbled. "Ask one of the older clan members, they'll know more anyway." Sasuke figured the admission that someone else would know more would have hurt if it wasn't simply an excuse to get rid of him. Sometimes his father could be pleasant, but not too often. When he was, Itachi was usually around.

Sasuke asked around, and finally was directed to a more distant relative who was old and skilled, or at least lucky, enough to have retired from being a shinobi. He was let into the man's house with a small smile. The man may or may not have wanted him there, but at least he was being polite.

"So, speak up kid, what can I do for the clan's latest prodigy?" the older Uchiha asked.

"I heard you have access to old records including records about people," Sasuke explained his reason for the visit.

"All right, anyone in particular you want to know about. I'll see what I can do."

"Does the name Kusabana mean anything to you, or can you see if there is a record of it?" The man's reaction to Sasuke's words was surprising. His eyes widened noticeably.

"Kusabana? Why do you want to know about her?"

"Well, mostly I want to know about her mother," Sasuke specified. It seemed he'd come to the right man.

"Her mother? What? Why?" Now the old man just seemed confused more than surprised.

"Well she says sh-"

"Whoa, hold on, who are you talking about, I think I'm not understanding what you want." The man waved his hands to silence Sasuke. "Start over."

"My teammate, Kusabana Emi, doesn't know about her mother and doesn't look like her father. I'm curious," Sasuke said, being as specific as he could be.

"She had a kid? Damn," the old man shrugged. "Don't need my records for this."

"Wait, you knew her mother?"

"See this scar?" The man pointed to his face. "I _fought_ a mercenary named Kusabana working for another village many years ago. Young thing, strangely polite, and used a hell of a weapon. She was good, but I was better. She got away though once she realized she had no chance of winning."

"How did you know her name?" Sasuke was confused on that detail.

"Like I said, strangely polite. She introduced herself like we were having an official duel or something, strange girl. I stole her weapon from her if you want to see it, by the way." Without waiting for an answer, the man got up and started digging through a box. He pulled out something that looked like a coiled up whip. "Got to be careful not to slice yourself open just holding this thing, but that girl was waving it around this way and that. It was like trying to fight a swarm of angry hornets!"

When he brought it over, Sasuke could see that it was a whip, a thick one, with a barb on the end. Also, it had tiny, razor sharp blades along the whole length of it. It certainly looked nasty, though it would take a very precise strike to be fatal. Or poison.

"There's a good chance my teammate is that mercenaries daughter," Sasuke told him. "I don't suppose I could take this and show her?"

"Hm, well it's just been sitting around in that box for the last decade. Sure, why not. Maybe you or your teammate could even learn to use it!" The old Uchiha shrugged and found a cloth to wrap the razor-whip in before handing it over.

"Thank you," Sasuke took it and gave a polite bow. "I'll take my leave now."

**. . .**

After Mitsuru had finished explaining, Tsunade had suggested they let Naruto have some time to calm down. They headed to the town they were supposed to have met at the next day. Once there, they found a worried Shizune anxiously awaiting them at a small hotel.

"You found her! Oh, and Naruto-kun and Mitsuru-san?" Shizune was surprised to see them all together.

"Yeah, Sakura managed to find them skulking in the woods as usual," Tsunade smirked at her own joke.

"Hey, I do _not _skulk!" Mitsuru resented the accusation. "You'd hide too if you were being hunted by the Uchiha clan."

"Well, why don't we go get some food and we can catch up on things, shall we?" Tsunade suggested. "I'm sure Naruto is dying to eat some decent food."

Naruto was indeed ready to eat hot, restaurant quality food. They found a quaint little place where one would sit outside rather than inside and served a variety of foods. Despite the food, Naruto's mood was still on the glum side and improved little. Eventually Shizune couldn't stand it anymore.

"Come on Naruto, we should be happy right now. Smile!" Shizune urged him and smiled herself, trying to set an example. Naruto gave a clearly forced, mirthless smile in return. "That doesn't count," Shizune whined, her own smile fading.

"I'll make him smile," Sakura said and got up form her seat. She went around behind Naruto and grabbed his cheeks, forcing him to smile.

"Stawp thah!" Naruto complained, his speech coming out awkwardly. He tried to get away, but Sakura grabbed him in a headlock. As they struggled, Naruto's chair tipped over and Sakura's grip on his head was the only thing that kept him from going with it. He gagged as all his weight ended up being supported by his throat. Sakura let him go upon hearing that.

"Hehe, sorry," Sakura giggled nervously.

"I'm getting you for that!" Naruto growled, an evil grin appearing on his face and he lunged at her. At least he _was _grinning.

"Eek!" Sakura squealed and turned on her heel, running away. It was quite the spectacle and soon the three adults watching were laughing at them, even as the few other customers stared I total confusion. Naruto finally seemed to catch Sakura, but she managed to slip out of his grasp and turn the tables, and soon had him in a bear hug from behind. She then proceeded to lift Naruto clean off his feet. Naruto struggled helplessly, arms and legs flailing in a vain attempt to escape, only further fueling the now uproarious laughter from Mitsuru, Shizune, Tsunade, and even some of the other customers.

"Gaaah! Let me go, let me go!" Naruto continued his useless flailing.

"Are you smiling?" Sakura asked. It was such a ridiculous question considering the circumstance that it caused Naruto to stop his struggling for a moment.

"What? Of course I'm not!"

"Why not?" Sakura laughed, already knowing the answer, but wanting to harass Naruto.

"Just put me down!" Naruto demanded, once again squirming in an attempt to get loose.

"All right, all right, you heard the man. Besides, you're making a scene," Tsunade said, trying to get her own laughing under control.

"Fiiiine." Sakura finally relented and placed him back on the ground. Naruto immediately turned on her and glared. "What?" Sakura batted her eyelashes innocently.

"You know what!" Naruto crossed his arms. Sakura just stuck her tongue out at him at first, but then without warning hugged him, without yanking him off his feet this time. One of the other female customer's let out a quiet "aww" at the sight.

"Just cheer up already!"

"No," Naruto grumbled, though after a noticeable pause. Unfortunately, that set the tone for the rest of their time at the restaurant, effectively killing the good mood.

**. . .**

"So, I assume you'll be taking Sakura back now?" Tsunade asked. She was now sitting alone with Mitsuru back at the hotel.

"Yeah." Mitsuru nodded.

"You realize they're probably safer with me, right?"

"Hmm, you think you can handle Naruto?" Mitsuru almost considered it for a moment.

"Can you?" Tsunade countered.

"Ha, good question," Mitsuru hung his head. "There were times when I almost felt like he was my son, but now he just hates me."

"Hmph, kids always act like they hate the person raising them, doesn't mean they really do. He'll get over it soon enough," Tsunade assured him. "I only had her for a year, but I still had an argument or two with Sakura."

"I suppose." Mitsuru then turned to Tsunade, his growing lack of confidence starting to show on his face. "Be honest with me, have I made a big mistake with this entire scheme of mine? I don't even have an end goal beyond trying to keep Naruto away from the Uchiha. And Sakura, I feel like I just used her to get Naruto out of Konoha. She should be in her own home with her parents. Hell, her parents are probably tearing their hair out thinking some terrorist has stolen their child. I'm ready to tear my hair out because, technically, I have!"

"You're falling apart in more ways than one, aren't you?" Tsunade asked. "You've ruined your body by abusing your kekkei genkai and now you're tearing yourself apart mentally."

"I thought you were a medic, not a psychiatrist," Mitsuru frowned. "Now answer my question."

"I don't know, you did take two kids without any permission whatsoever. But, did you have any other options?"

"What? Tell someone what they were planning? With what proof?" Mitsuru snapped. "I walked out the damn front gates with those two and nobody even tried to stop me. You think a few Uchihas would have had any trouble getting to him if they tried? Nobody gave a damn about that kid, no one would have protected him if I hadn't!"

"So, it wasn't a mistake," Tsunade replied simply. "Question answered. You did what you had to with what you had to work with. Yes, Sakura misses her family, but she's holding it together, she understands what's going on now, she doesn't blame you. She's gotten attached to Naruto, she wants to protect him just as much as you do. She's gotten attached to you to, and I'm sure Naruto has as well. So for their sakes, get your act together and stop whining!"

"Whining?"

"What would you call it?"

"A nervous breakdown?" Mitsuru suggested and sighed into his palms before standing up. "But you're right, I guess. I got myself into this, I'll figure out what to do from here."

"Right. Now keep it together this time, I don't want to give you any more pep talks after this. It's sad seeing a grown man almost cry."

"Right, well I guess we'll get going tomorrow unless you have other plans," Mitsuru said.

"Great, now I'm going to miss that kid," Tsunade grumbled, referring to Sakura.

**. . .**

They spent the better part of the next day with Tsunade and Shizune, but then Mitsuru announced they'd be going their separate ways again. Unfortunately Tsunade was too high profile for them to all stay together. The Uchiha didn't really care about Sakura, so leaving her with Tsunade had been fine, but if Naruto and Mitsuru were there as well they'd attract attention before too long.

"Well kid, I'll admit it, I'll miss you, but you're back with Naruto now, so it's not so bad, right?" Tsunade said to Sakura.

"Yeah, but, will I see you again?" Sakura asked, looking a little teary-eyed.

"Of course! We've bumped into each other a few times now, it's bound to happen again!" Tsunade gave her a reassuring smile.

"Why can't we just stay with Tsunade? I'm sick of the woods!" Naruto complained, though more likely he just wanted to get away from Mitsuru.

"Because I've pissed off a lot of people, it's not too hard for someone to find me if they look hard enough. Eventually I'd unintentionally lead people right to you, sorry," Tsunade explained with a sigh. She was starting to regret her gambling a little.

"Yeah, exactly." Mitsuru nodded. "Come on, we should get moving while the sun is still up so we can find a good place to set up camp." Before he followed through with that though, he turned to Tsunade. "Thank you, for everything. You've done more than you had to."

"I did it for the kids, but you're welcome," Tsunade said. "Now get out of here before this gets too sappy, dammit!"

"Bye, Tsunade." Unfortunately for the woman, Sakura decided to hug her.

"Darn it, girl, what did I just say?" Tsunade complained, but put an arm around the girl. After Sakura did the same with Shizune, and with Tsunade holding back a few tears, they separated once again.

**. . .**

Not far from where Mitsuru and company were saying their goodbyes to Tsunade and Shizune, a gloved hand turned on a small microphone.

"You were right, she led me right to them... Yes, they've separated... I understand, I'll keep track of them. They'll probably set up camp soon, I'll contact you once they have... Of course I'll be careful, they'll never know I'm there."

**. . .**

_Chapter 25: I can't get through to Mitsuru and it's worrying me. The worst part is it's not even that he won't talk to me, he just doesn't listen. The kid is quite simply brilliant, and possibly has the most talent for ninjutsu I've ever seen. That's part of the problem unfortunately, he thinks he's invincible. Most teenagers go through a stage like that, but I'm afraid he'll never stop thinking he's a god until something bad happens to him._

_Another issue is that he's surprisingly charismatic and has Akira completely wrapped around his finger, whether she knows it or not. He still seems unaware of why she's so willing to follow his lead, so now I'm worried about Akira getting hurt by him in more ways than one. Kyo isn't buying into Mitsuru's act, but I think at the same time peer pressure makes him go along with them. No matter how right Kyo is on something, if Mitsuru disagrees with him, so will Akira, meaning it's always two against one and majority rules._

_Chapter 26: I must be a terrible sensei. I've entered them into the Chuunin exams. Part of me wants them to fail to teach them, and especially Mitsuru, a lesson in humility. They make an excellent team to be honest, but I worry that one day they'll take on more than they can handle and pay for it with their lives. I'd hate for any of them to end up like me, with survivor's guilt too._

_Chapter 26 addition: They've all passed. Now I'm really worried._

After that, Naruto noticed the handwriting changed. Normally he didn't read too much of it at once, it wasn't a big journal, in fact he was getting close to the end and he wanted it to last at least a little while longer. He was too curious not to see what the next chapter held though.

_Chapter 27: We were sent on a mission. It didn't go well, not all of us made it back. I wish I'd done things so differently. It-_

"Naruto!" He heard Mitsuru shout. He tried to ignore it, he was trying to read! He didn't want to deal with the man right now. However, a second later something clicked in him, Mitsuru's voice had been urgent, worried, almost panicked. He shoved the small journal into his pocket and got up. He jumped out of the tree he'd been sitting in and ran towards where he'd heard Mitsuru shouting from.

Mitsuru and Sakura were shoving things into backpacks hurriedly when he arrived. Mitsuru looked up when he noticed Naruto.

"No time to explain! Leave anything not important, we're getting out of here now!" Mitsuru ordered him. Naruto ran towards where his backpack was, but it was gone.

"Did you already take my pack?" Naruto shouted back at Mitsuru and Sakura. Both gave him a confused look, then he saw their eyes widen, looking at something behind him. He tried to look at what they were, but then he felt a sharp pain in his neck, and then everything went dark...

**. . .**

"-to! Naruto!" Naruto felt himself being shaken. His eyes snapped open and he tried to sit straight up, but his neck was incredibly stiff and he had to slow down on his way up. "You're awake!" He felt something wrap around him, arms. Sakura's arms.

"Wh-what happened?" Naruto blinked away his blurry vision.

"We were attacked, they looked like ANBU," Sakura told him and helped him stand. "One of them hit you."

"Yeah, and where there's one, there will be more. In fact there were two, and they were strong," Mitsuru walked over. He was clutching his side.

"Sensei, are yo-" Sakura began to ask, but Mitsuru stumbled and nearly fell. Sakura was at his side to assist him a moment later.

"Not quite. I know a some healing jutsu, and I'm sure you do too after Tsunade's training, but there's no time. You have to run, find Tsunade, she'll take care of you."

"What? We're not abandoning you! Why can't you come with us?" Sakura grabbed Mitsuru's sleeve. Naruto was shocked silent. Was he telling them to run off without him because he _couldn't _go with them? How badly was he injured?

"S-Sakura's right! I won't leave you!" Naruto got up, adamant that he would be staying. He was surprised when Mitsuru just smiled widely. It seemed he was even standing with less effort despite his injury.

"No, I'm sorry, I have to hold off any others that are after us. They won't get past me easily, you'll have time to run. It's the most I can give you now." He turned to Sakura and pried her hands off, the act of doing so bringing tears to her eyes. "You'll be fine, you two are strong in more ways than one. Now go!"

"S-sensei," Sakura tried to protest, but Mitsuru gently pushed her away.

"I said go! That's an order!" He shouted at them. He felt a little guilty at the way they flinched, especially the now red-eyed Sakura. Naruto took her hand though and they obeyed. He watched until they disappeared into the forest.

He then turned back in the direction he'd figured the ANBU would be coming.

"Kyuchiyose no jutus! Tsume!" He placed his palm on the ground and in a burst of smoke, the small, vested cat appeared.

"Eh? Whoa, what happened to you? I can smell the blood," the cat said.

"I fell down some kunai... that made no sense, how much have I been bleeding?" Mitsuru glanced down at the feisty feline.

"Enough," it replied. "Where are the kids?"

"About them, they ran off that way." Mitsuru pointed behind him with his thumb. "Go after them, make sure they find Tsunade, keep them out of trouble until they do."

"Why me and not someone bigger?"

"Tigers stand out too much, not to mention we all know I'm not on good terms with the higher summons," Mitsuru explained. "Besides, we've been through so much, it wouldn't feel right sending anyone else."

"Right." Tsume nodded. "Got it. Hey, will I ever see you again?"

"Heh, probably not." Mitsuru chuckled bemusedly.

"About time," Tsume muttered and stuck his nose in the air. "I smell three humans coming this way."

"I'm honored, they sent five ANBU after me."

"I said three," Tsume corrected.

"I know."

"Huh, you're dead even if you do survive this."

"Yep." Mitsuru's hand twitched, his face slowly turning into a grin.

"That look in your eyes, hm, I feel bad for those ANBU."

"You should, you really should..."

**. . .**

He was alone now, in a situation he'd never thought he'd be in. A criminal, fighting the ANBU of his own village. He'd been someone once, or so he'd thought, now he couldn't think of anyone who wouldn't look down on him as scum or a disappointment.

But his death would mean something. He'd go out in a blaze of glory fighting for what he believed in. They'd never know why he would fight so hard. It sounded good in theory. He wondered how it would feel when the final moment came.

They arrived.

"He's injured, I'll handle him. You two go ahead!" the lead ANBU ordered. The others moved to go past Mitsuru.

"Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!" They were halted when Mitsuru fired a volley of fireballs, blocking their paths. "Not happening. Quick question, do any of you have a kekkei genkai?"

"Even if we did, we wouldn't need them against you," one ANBU said.

"You know, I know what you're thinking. A kekkei genkai doesn't mean anything, it's all about skill and making the right choice in a fight," Mitsuru explained. The ANBU looked at each other, wondering what he was going on about. "_Unless_ you're like me. Unless you know how to use your kekkei genkai better than is good for you. It pains me to tell you this, but I know my kekkei genkai to that extent, to the extent that it's no good for you either."

Mitsuru's eyes lost their milky blue color, the blue coloration increasing in intensity until his eyes were literally glowing. Chakra flowed out of him in waves, still not quite visible to the naked eye, but the ANBU could feel it, growing, growing, altering the flow of the air around them.

"C-can you feel that?" an ANBU said, looking around frantically.

"I can taste that!" the third gulped.

"Shut up! It's just chakra, it doesn't matter how much he has.

"Doesn't it?" Mitsuru asked coldly. "DOESN'T IT?" He roared and the earth came alive beneath them.

**. . .**

Naruto and Sakura were running in the direction of the town they'd just left, hoping that even if Mitsuru couldn't come back, that he'd at least stop the ANBU. Naruto felt something hit his shoulder as soon as the thought passed through his mind.

"Whoa, clam down! It's just me!"

"Tsume!" Sakura exclaimed as they skidded to a halt, Naruto's heart threatening to burst from the shock.

"Yeah, he sent me to watch after you kids," Tsume said to Sakura. "Come on, don't stop now, we can talk while we move. Mind if I hitch ride, though?" Naruto nodded his head in response to the feline and they continued on, Tsume clinging tightly to Naruto's shoulder.

They didn't get far before Tsume suddenly jumped off, landing in front of them causing them to stop again. He looked around nervously before suddenly a long, fleshy tendril shot out and wrapped around the cat, causing Tsume to yowl in protest before he was reeled away.

The culprit turned out to be a large, orange toad next to a man whose clothes made him appear larger than he really was. He had a mane of long, spiky, white hair along with a headband that resembled the forehead of the toad next to him rather than a normal village headband.

"Let me go you bastard! This is disgusting!" Tsume screeched and tried in vain to claw free of the toad's tongue.

"Alright, let's all remain calm," the white haired man stepped forward, but Naruto roared and lunged at him. The man caught Naruto's fist and swung him around, causing Naruto to fly on by. He turned back to face Sakura just in time to see her aiming a punch of her own at him. He almost caught it, but at the last moment his eyes widened in recognition and he jumped away, Sakura's fist instead hitting the ground and leaving a crater in it.

The man caught her before she could recover from missing and simply tapped her forehead. Without warning, she slumped over unconscious.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?" Naruto screamed, but didn't wait for an answer, going through hand seals.

"She's f-" the man tried to speak, but then realized what Naruto was about to do.

"KYUCHIY-" The man made his own hand seal and then whipped his long hair around, stopping Naruto when the hair extended and struck him straight-on. The strange part was the hair dug into his clothing, sticking wherever it made contact. It then drew him back towards the man as the hair retracted. It let go before long, but Naruto was already flying towards the older shinobi.

Naruto's face was caught by the man's palm and he was slammed tot he ground roughly, and then pinned.

"Sorry kid, maybe you don't understand, but this is for your own good. I'm taking you home!"

"H-home? No!" Naruto struggled, but soon a strange sensation washed over him and his consciousness faded away.

* * *

**Oh my, things are going poorly it seems. Who is this strange man who caught Sakura and Naruto... I wonder... heh...**

**VIEWER MAIL TIME!**

**NarutoRocks21113043: Writing out those numbers in your name is a pain.**

**Merry Christmas eh? Well it is- oh my, that was the Christmas before last year's Christmas... oi.**

**Glad you liked it, hopefully this cliffhanger won't leave people hanging for quite so long.**

**Strawberry030: Did you read it all in one day? Damn. Hope you liked it. Also I hope the poor quality wasn't too painful, it's not all my fault, the website messed with my format! I know you didn't complain, but looking back at it it bothers me how bad it is...**

**All the other reviews were short without much to respond to, but as always I appreciate them just as much due to the sentiment! Thank you!**

**I'll try to keep this fic updated more often now. In fact, though you might not want to hear this, I could probably finish it within a year if I tried. **

**Anyway, til' next time!**


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